It's Only Forever
by Trinity Destler
Summary: I must leave it all behind, give up all my life for something larger than myself. I'll never see my love again, but it's only forever... not long at all. [YYY. Egypt and Modern. Not AU.]
1. Carni

**_It's Only Forever_**

_Chapter One_

_auau - a kert ab - kua her entet an reX - n  
_I am silent, I am pure, because naught do I know

Yuugi Shemnkotek was the sixteenth prince of Carni.

At fourteen years old he stood four hands shorter than his closest brother and his slender arms bore little weight for a boy in his prime. His lithe form lent itself to dance beautifully, but stumbled amateurishly in hunting and sport. The smooth alabaster of his skin refused to darken to the healthy brown of his people but burned in the sun, driving the young prince to dwell most of his life in the depths of the palace temple. Large, dark blue eyes dominated his youthful face, only magnifying the naivete and innocence his curved features projected.

Despite his small stature, he held himself with the grace of the princeling he was, his head high and his slim shoulders squared; though beneath his robes he trembled with uncertainty, he would never allow his doubts to show. He didn't wear a crown, or gold, or fine linen or even the branding tattoo of House Shemnkotek that each of his brothers wore, but he refused to be humbled to anything less than his birthright.

Yuugi was a prince with absolutely no trappings of his office, save royal dignity. With fifteen elder brothers before him, all tall, broad-shouldered and strong; his chances of ever coming to the throne were astronomically small. Although his blood would forever keep him safe from exile or death, his father was loathe to give his youngest even the smallest luxuries while he lavished gifts upon his other heirs. Syret was a hard, war-like king who desired little but territory and power; that he could sire such a pathetic, delicate, helpless creature drove all mercy from his hand.

Yuugi had learned from his earliest years to keep away from his family as best he could, spending his time instead with the priests of the Moon Goddess, Althen, listening in when they taught lessons to the noble children. His own education was sorely neglected, considered wasteful by his father, but he learned much from his eavesdropping and developed a quick ear and quicker mind.

He didn't mind his situation, in fact, he rather preferred this arrangement of being almost completely ignored. He had no love for his father and he didn't covet the crown, it had never seemed appealing to him as he watched his father's rocky reign and the greed dancing behind the king's eyes. Yuugi took his joy from his lessons and his small discoveries in the deep cellars of the temple; he had never missed being waited on or groveled to because he had never experienced it. Syret left him alone and that was the way he liked it.

He expected to pass his entire life much as he had passed his childhood, in shadow, in secret, in seclusion and loneliness... He could never have expected the summons to come when they did.

Yuugi lay against the rough, but welcome coolness of the temple stone, wondering absently what quarry such good blocks had come from as the priest, Smealh, drabbled on and on about the conquest of Syri, the newest province. He loathed these days when the priests would teach modern events rather than history. He lived only for days long passed; tales of the exotic out-lands explored by the first king Shilnobi, the discovery of the script, the divine gift from Althen... He loved script, it required so much concentration, so much precision. He could write full forty-six ana'has; his proudest accomplishment.

His most favourite thing in the world, however, was when Smealh spoke about Khm'ma'ht, the Land of the River, where men are so great the very winds bow to their will. They created the linen that the king, his father said was finest in all the wide world- and his royal father had very discerning tastes. They educate their children in the art of writing and history is taught most strictly along with maths and magic; even a girl may go to the temple and become a priestess. The traders speak of the land with trembling words, they say there is a mystical air over all parts of the kingdom; that their king is no mere man, but a genie. Yuugi longed with all his being to see it for himself, a place off the edge of the map upon the temple wall; a place where gods still walked the earth among men.

He had once gathered enough courage to ask Smealh about the trader's tales, about what the spice merchants said of their king and his magical powers. The old priest went red around the ears, damning them as corrupt and evil at the top of his voice, a knarled, outstretched finger pointing threateningly at Yuugi's chest for daring to raise such an offensive subject. They worshiped their king as a god along with countless other daemons and spirits, for this Smealh cursed them to the wrathful judgement of the Moon Goddess.

Yuugi had heard this silently, but didn't quite believe it- surely such wonderful, intelligent people who hold such powerful magics in the palms of their hands must know the true nature of the world? How could they heal broken limbs and stop wounds from becoming sickness as he had heard if they didn't have the help and blessing of Althen? It could not be so... not that he was so very convinced of the Goddesses' great powers. His own prayers had done little to help him.

The young prince sighed as his hands pulled apart a wilted lotus flower. Merlc, the spice trader's son had brought it for him as a taste of Khm'ma'ht; its scent had been divine, but it faded so quickly it made Yuugi wonder if it needed the magic inherent in its own land in order to survive. Perhaps he had not watered it fast enough.

The wistful musing was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps, the vibrations of which Yuugi could feel in the floor beneath his sandals; his brow furrowed and he drew back behind a thick pillar as the sounds grew nearer.

A palace grunt armoured in heavy leather was mumbling impatiently to the blue-robed priest, his brimmed helm pulled low over his brow, shadowing his face. Sweat was rolling down his dark brown skin, weather beaten and sun-baked from hours of service in the Imperial forces. He looked up suddenly from the conversation, making all the children start, his fat finger pointing to the dark corner behind the column where Yuugi had hid himself. Smealh nodded solemnly and the guard moved forward. 

Seeing this, Yuugi very nearly let out a strangled yelp. Only slightly more disturbing than the old priest's betrayal was the agonizing question of what purpose for which they could want him. The sickly youngest son meant nothing to the court or its proceedings and his presence was neither requested or _tolerated_. Yuugi could only look on in horror as the mountainous guard thundered over to his hiding place and pulled him roughly to his feet by the scruff of his neck.

"The Shah in shah calls for the prince Yuugi Cal'medire Shemnkotek, Thane of Calmi to attend his grace." The rough, rumbling voice very appropriately matched its owner's appearance and boomed into the boy's ears in something like a tidal wave of sound.

Before Yuugi could summon the courage or the wits to reply he was being bodily dragged along the corridor towards the throne room, on a collision course with the huge stone doors that required ten servants either side to open.

The doors withdrew, swiftly as if they weighed no more than so much air and the king was there before him; lounging, as always, sprawled across a bed of furs and linen pillows stuffed with down and sand. He wore an elaborate headdress of gold, feathers and precious stones that made him look ridiculously like a peacock had made a nest on his head; not that anyone would dare to laugh.

Yuugi could only stare about himself in bewilderment as he was placed roughly on his feet at the edge of this opulence, furs and linens spilling onto the sand from the king's pavilion. He had been accustomed to this room, often watching the proceedings of state from the galleries above the throne room where the lower nobility could come to gawk at the wealth of their ruler. It had been a long time, however, since he had stood so close to his father, longer still since he had met his eyes so directly and Yuugi felt his blood go cool at the cruelty in that gaze.

An ambassador leaned toward the king, speaking swiftly and in a voice so low that Yuugi, standing scant arms reaches away could not understand what was being said. The man was tall and thin, unnaturally so, his arms frail, but his grip on the walking cane he carried murderous; whatever he was telling the king was making him smile wickedly.

Syret, King of Carni was giggling, his amusement even greater and more twisted than that of the ambassador. Yuugi lowered his eyes in contempt, knowing from watching this man and his moods that only the promise of bloodshed could make him so happy.

His father's fierce gray eyes snapped over to him, glittering intensely as if challenging his son to voice his disgust, "Yuugi! Come to me, come to me, our farcical littlest prince!" Syret laughed uproariously at his own joke as the small figure slowly approached, and the look of challenge was gone as quickly as it had come. "We have finally found a use for you, most delicate, pretty child."

"If there is any way in which I may serve you, the king who is beloved by the Goddess, I will thrust my life energy into it." Defiance would be useless, he would be beaten for it and forced to complete whatever task he was to be given. Yuugi had learned only to fight the battles he needed to fight in order to survive and suffer through the rest in dignified silence. He refused to give his father the satisfaction of breaking him, if nothing else.

Syret regarded him carefully for a moment, "Yes, well, quite..." He seemed to lose himself in thought for a moment as his gaze slid over his son in disturbing detail before he shook his head (ruffling his magnificent headgear) and gesturing his ministers forward with a hand. "Explain to my son his new purpose."

"The Shah in shah wishes to possess the Land of the River for his own uses." The ambassador who had been speaking in the king's ear made two long strides toward Yuugi and loomed over him, relishing his height and glaring down at the prince with sinister countenance.

Yuugi was shocked out of complacency by the stupidity of the court in attacking Khm'ma'ht; a people who had existed in much the same way for thousands of years. They had defeated the strongest armies in the known world without even making full use of their vast resources. How could the small, poor nation of Carni hope to survive such a conflict at all, much less emerge victorious from invasion! From whence would Syret summon up his army, where would he find the wealth and food he would need- didn't he even realize that his own people would never stand with him in such a useless war?

"My royal father does not seem to-" he began in dismay, honestly unable to remain obediently silent in the face of such suicide.

A sharp crack resounded loudly through the cavern-like room, the explosion of sound of flesh meeting flesh as the ambassador slapped him hard across the cheek. "You will speak when required of you, understand?" he hissed.

He nodded, resisting the urge to paw his stinging cheek. _Father, what do you think you are doing?_

"You, little prince," the tall man continued, satisfied the lesson had been absorbed, "are going to aid your king in this venture."

Yuugi's already large eyes widened to perfect roundness. He? The smallest, weakest prince of a small, weak nation was going to bring about the downfall of the greatest empire in all history? The nation he would give absolutely anything to be a part of instead of this insignificant blot on the desert's surface he now called home. His father wanted him to go against everything he had ever believed in, everything that had ever given him so hope or happiness in his solitude; and do it for _him_; this man who made every moment of his life a living hell? It was too cruel, even for Syret...

"I have offered our friendship to the heathen king of Khm'ma'ht, and he has accepted my terms and a gift as a token of my esteem." Syret's smile was sinister and his laugh sent shivers down Yuugi's spine. "We will send the Pharaoh a bride in order to cement our 'alliance'."

"When he discovers our insult he will be so offended he will attack immediately." The ambassador continued sardonically, his eyes alight with malicious anticipation..

"The commoners cannot deny the need for defense and they cannot deny the need for punishment that Khm'ma'ht would attack unprovoked!" The king struggled for breath as he laughed, clutching his pillows and his finery. "They will stand up gladly to give their lives for the defense of their country against outsiders!"

They had explained little of their actual plan, but to Yuugi, tiny in the wake of their vast plan and their sick hilarity, it was all so repulsively clear.


	2. Shadows

MODERN DAY

_Chapter Two_

"Unwashed and somewhat slightly dazed..."

_/Yami, I don't think this is your standard case of monsters run amok/_ Yugi's mind voice wavered slightly as they passed through yet another gate deeper into the Shadows. _/These attacks aren't random./_

_(I know, partner,)_ Yami's deep, rumbling baritone seemed to echo in the overwhelming silence, even within the confines of Yugi's mind. _(I think we're in for something far, far different from 'standard'.)_

The gloom before them did little to mask the carnage that had drawn them here. Bodies were scattered across the ravine floor in various states of dismemberment, the remains of minor monsters who had been unable to defend themselves from attack. The grass of the nodes, created to house the more timid Shadows, was stained vividly red with blood; slick and syrupy underfoot as Yugi picked his way down into the village.

The Shadow realm had long since ceased, in Yugi's mind, to be a place of darkness and fear. The Shadows weren't necessarily evil, in fact, the monsters who made their home here were often tame and eager to meet their masters face to face. He should have always known; after all, wasn't Yami supposed to be Dark?

Yami walked behind his soul partner as a physical manifestation, his long legs carrying him easily over the worst of the damage. This place was his kingdom now and he would be damned if he watched it fall apart because he wasn't fast enough to catch a single minor sorcerer. Nothing that had been done was irreparable, in fact it wasn't even Big Magic. It made the ancient spirit curious... Who would dare brave the Shadows and then wreck havoc on their inhabitants knowing he was no match for their guardian? Perhaps they didn't know.

_(Yugi, don't go any nearer,) _the once-Pharaoh pushed passed his partner carefully as Yugi obediently froze in place. Yami peered down at the suspicious looking black mass blocking their path into the valley, probing it with his own magics. _(I do not know this substance... but it feels familiar...)_

_/Probably something you saw in Egypt./ _Yugi offered helpfully, watching his darkness pick his way closer to the black stuff.

_(Mmm...) _He was lost in thought.

_/Be careful, please, Yami. I don't want to have to drag you back./_ Yugi remembered that his little 'house guest' was as real and tangible as anything here in this realm. And that he was _heavy._

Yami glared at the teenager over his shoulder,_ (No concern for my well-being, that's nice.)_

_/I _am_ the nice one./_ Yugi grinned.

The conversation was cut short by a shrill scream from the other side of the valley and a second female shriek followed by ruthless laughter and unpleasent slurping noises.

_(/He's still here!)/ _Both light and dark mentally shouted, quickly merging and using Yami's cat-like agility to practically fly down the steep hillside. Conserving magical energy for the battle they knew would follow.

He panted for breath as he stared up from the cobblestone street of the monster village at the two silhouettes on the cliff above him, "Show yourself, sorcerer! Unhand those shadow creatures!"

A figure in a black cowl strode to the edge of the cliff haugtily, fearing no danger, a struggling Witty Phantom held securely in its claws. His voice- identifying him as a 'he' of some description- oozed and patronized, his tone sounding almost conversation, "Why should I? Oh, because these beasts are_ yours_?" he pointed from Yugi to the Phantom exaggeratedly, his voice rising effeminately.

"I don't think so, I think I'll kill it and put it to some use." The figure turned away, back to his grisly work.

_/Yami.../_

_(A necromancer, a Shadow necromancer. This may be more difficult than I anticipated, small one.)_ The spirit frowned in dissatisfaction, not liking the way this was turning out. A good fight he adored, a situation in which his partner might possibly be hurt- Yami didn't like showing that side of himself much anymore. It always seemed like... overkill. Besides, something different was afoot here, something he hadn't felt... since another lifetime. Why did he know what a Shadow Necromancer was and why did the thought send uncomfortable apprehension down his spine?

_/Now I know it's bad, you haven't called me that since you broke the TV./ _Yugi's irrepressable cheerfulness dragged his thoughts back to the matter at hand.

Yami cursed.

"All right, Dark Wizard, you didn't seem to realize that wasn't a request! I will give you one chance to surrender, release your prisoners and come down peacefully." Yami's brilliant ruby eyes flashed dangerously as he readied himself for an attack, glowing with inner power.

"So you can kill me? Forgive me if I refuse," the necromancer laughed uproariously, "You know, my dear Pharaoh, you really have become quite ridiculous in your stay away from all the stress of the real world. In the old days it would have been decimate first ask questions later, wouldn't it? Especially when I would do something like-" another screech ripped through the silence, before dwindling into a sickening gurgle and a steady, even more stomach-turning dripping as the Witty Phantom had his throat torn out with a golden scythe.

"_a Ausar_!" Yami whispered in oath, shocked, before growling in rage; "Murderous bastard, you'll pay for each drop of his blood with a gallon of your own!" His fingers curled, as if ready to claw the Wizard to death, instead balls of Shadow magic forming in his palms. Yami was about to throw pure power at his tenacious enemy.

The necromancer laughed again, bordering on hysteria, "Were you not paying attention O great _Heru-Xuti_? Have you forgotten so much that you cannot recognize a little sacrifice for power? All those years of instruction and _you're _forgetting these things? I'm afraid you'll have to play the game with more skill if you want to survive! Hah!" He threw a hand out in front of him, blue lightning crackling between his fingers.

A shrill howling of wind seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once, Yugi's already wild hair swirling madly as the soft breeze became a violent, storming torrent. Yami fought to keep his feet on the ground, shielding his eyes to look up at the necromancer. No matter his efforts he soon felt himself sweapt into the upward air jet. He landed hard on the cliff, knuckles slammed into the rocks, his own blood seeping into the ground, mere steps away from the man in the cowl.

_(Yugi?) _

_/I'm fine./_

"I rather thought you'd present me a challenge after all these years, but it seems I'm to be disappointed again." The necromancer stroked his chin in contemplation, "Do you suppose the rest of the world will put up much of a fight? No, you're quite right, not when the Shadows are free again." He grinned idiotically at Yami, carrying on his own one-sided conversation.

He was standing in a circle inside a hexagram, drawn in blood that had thickened to enamel-like hardness and dried to the grass and dirt. Fallen monsters lay sprawled over the lines, their bodies mutilated and broken, hearts piled in the center of the ring, covered in a blue powder and staked with a short broad sword.

_(He meant to resurrect something very old,_) Yami stood calmly, brushing himself off, _(Something so old he's having trouble finding it. The wind was just an outlet for the power, he didn't want to do that. Amateur.)_

_/Just be careful, please, Yami... nothing is ever what it seems./ _Yugi's voice was pleading from his soul room. He didn't want to put lives in jeopardy because they underestimated their opponent.

"I think you'll find me more formidable than you were expecting," Yami looked up at his prey with gleaming crimson eyes, letting the Shadows run freely through him. "You seem to know my name, but I have yet to learn yours, you are...?"

The necromancer grinned, tossing back his cowl to reveal a face so repulsive, Yami felt his- by no means weak- stomach lurch. All his flesh was horribly burned, peeling back from his features and revealing tacky layers of tissue beyond, his eyes were sunken, but nonetheless lucid. Gray, lifeless eyes, dull and absorbing all light that hit them instead of reflecting it. A generous mouth- without the benefit of lips- was creased into a malevolent smirk, the horror completed by a singed splotch where hair should have been. He was painted, as if he had put on cosmetics without knowing how.

"My name would make no difference, Pharaoh, for I can see you don't remember. How ironically quaint that you should have forgotten how great you were only to lose your current- considerably lesser- greatness to me." He grinned, disgusting maw twisting unnaturally.

"I don't need to know you to defeat you." Yami growled, hating to be reminded of his hole-ridden memory.

"Ah, but you would lose everything you might have learned from me." He grinned again, making Yugi squirm with discomfort even in the protection of his soul room. "And don't be so silly, Pharaoh, I wouldn't let you kill me before we've even warmed up."

With a final smirk, he completely vanished.

"Nnn!" Yami lurched forward, but it was too late.

Yugi's hand fell on his shoulder, "We will meet him again."

The spirit nodded, "That's what I don't like."

FINFINFINFINFIFNIFNIFNFINFINFIFNIFNIFNIFNIFINFIN!

_Sorry about the shortness and the suck._

_Notes: Ancient Egyptian: Yami said, 'Hail Osiris' meant as an oath, sort of like 'Oh God' would be to us.  
The necromancer gave Yami a divine title: 'Horus of the two horizons' Egyptian Pharaohs were considered gods on earth, but the necromancer isn't giving the correct title, he's mocking Yami.  
I didn't use 'aibou' because I am not Japanese, I don't speak Japanese and inserting random Japanese words into the story won't change that. No offense to people who do, I don't have a problem with it, I'm just not kidding myself. The English 'partner' probably doesn't capture the complete meaning of the word, but there's nothing I can really do._

_**Notes Important to the Whole Story: **All the Ancient Egyptian stuff will be as historically accurate as possible because I have always had a big passion for it and I hate reading all the fanfiction that treats it as though it were fantasy or medieval England. This was a real place and a real culture, some common beliefs are true, some aren't. Polygamy for example wasn't widely accepted, only the Pharaoh had a lot of wives. Tons of stuff like that. (Amen-Ra or Amun-Re or whatever you prefer is actually a hybrid of two gods)._

_The modern day part will be as show-accurate as possible considering how few Japanese episodes I've been able to see and how I'm inserting a story line that wasn't in the show. I will be skipping the Memory arc later, just to warn people. And I may mess with the show itself. I suppose it's sort of semi-AU, but not really. I will correct the show on its Egyptian history (Seth's outfit is ridiculous, Yami's crown, etc)._

_Finally the Egypt part will be hardcore, definite YYY, the modern part… well, that's a secret._


	3. The King of Upper and Lower Egypt

**EGYPT: 2498 BC**

_Chapter Three_

_nuk ãq ap per tennu nuà_

_I enter being judged, coming out pure._

This was, without doubt, _definitely_ the single most humiliating moment of Yuugi's entire- brief- existence. He shifted, squirming with shame and discomfort for the upteenth time, in the constrictive folds of his Carni bridal costume. Two hundred years of time-honoured tradition and it came to this singularly awful moment of a young prince practically committing suicide while looking like the very death; all of it for a father he loathed. Yuugi couldn't believe he was actually doing this, allowing it to happen instead of breaking free, stabbing himself, telling the Egyptian escort the whole plan and taking his father's punishment; _anything _would be preferable to just sitting here _taking it._

Life wasn't fair.

Here he was, finally getting some sort of royal treatment and it was dressed as a woman, carried off as virgin sacrifice to start a war for the sake of King and country he hated even more than he currently hated himself. His legs were sheathed in diaphanous, translucent trousers, hemmed in pearls and semi-precious stones and heavy, woven scarves of many colours wound over and about his neck and chest to disguise his lack of bosom. His abdomen was bare except for the intricate henna tattoos swirling all over his pale skin, he'd never felt so exposed- even though he usually wore less- and every breath of wind set off a fit of nerves.

What if the King discovered him right away? Would he be killed on the spot? Tortured for information? Would the Land of the River become his tomb or his prison? Did it even matter…? He'd often said he didn't care one way or the other if he lived or died, but now faced with the very serious possibility- _prob_ability, even- of death he found he was more attached to his life than he had thought.

He looked around and took a moment to marvel at the absurdity of the situation. He was being carried on an elaborate litter, curtained with coloured veils that afforded passerby only fleeting glimpses of his form and piled high with pillows and furs. It rested neatly on the shoulders of six enormous slaves, darkly tanned skin glistening with sweat under the merciless Egyptian sun as they marched, staring vacantly ahead. A troop of armed Egyptian mercenaries trudged on before them, copper swords glinting at their sides, two tame leopards with Carni attendants and a Carni guard brought up the rear of the small procession. Yuugi was finally getting to Khm'ma'ht in fashionable resplendence, if not exactly in the capacity he had imagined.

His cool, pale blue eyes searched the country-side as the litter made its slow, stately way passed the common settlements at the outskirts of the city of Memphis in Lower Egypt, the capital of the greatest empire in the known world. The people were happy, that much was obvious even in the small flashes of them he could see; farmers and children and women walking to the city to trade or sell in the market. They all looked so content and well-fed, their deep gold skin gleaming health and care. Yuugi had never seen anything like it. Not even the _nobles_ of Carni could boast such obvious vitality!

The King must be a very great man to bring his people such joy. Yuugi sighed, it didn't matter how great or fair a King he was, the so named 'Lord of the Two Lands', would never stand for the insult drawing closer and closer to his palace. Yuugi father had been right about that; and his sick and sorted plan was almost certain to go off without a hitch.

Life was also _deeply _depressing.

The sand shone in the noontime sun, glinting off pointed peaks in the distance that Yuugi told himself_ must_ be hills- he couldn't fathom anything _man made _on such an unreal scale- no matter how uniform or pointed, it _had_ tobe a mountain! That is, he couldn't fathom until he looked ahead and saw the multitude of spires and columns and gargantuan statues and temples and… the impossible seemed like a walk in the park to these people. He stared openly at the hustle and bustle of Memphis, the common people strolling about their simply _impossible _city as if it were nothing at all out of the ordinary. Yuugi's mouth dropped open in shock and he gaped shamelessly as each new building they passed increased in splendour and the enormous stone archway at the city gates behind them dwindled in comparison.

He was laying back in the litter in a stupor when he was startled to attention by a very loud, very contrived cough. He peered up from under his eyelashes at an official-looking man in a _nemes _headdress and a heavily starched kilt, a broad, bejeweled necklace covering his upper chest and thick, black lines edging his eyes. Yuugi tilted his head in confusion at that, wondering what on earth had happened to this man's face; he appeared to have slight green discolouration along his lower eyelids, too.

"Princess Yuugi of Carni, daughter of the the great and noble King Syret," he bowed low in the Carni manner, "The _Son of Ra_ welcomes you to the Great House of _Kemet_."

Yuugi noted, rather belatedly, that his litter had stopped the steady, swaying movement which had lulled his mind almost into hibernation. He rose uncertainly, wondering if he was to use the protocol of his homeland or the traditions of _Kemet. _Surely this man was practicing Carni graces out of respect- a symbol of their King's warm welcome. Tottering in a near fit of nerves, Yuugi performed the elaborate curtsey the ladies of his people learned by heart almost before they could walk.

The man who had greeted him smiled openly, a genuine smile showing two rows of straight, dazzlingly white teeth, the effect heightened against his dark skin. "Little princess, do not be afraid, we forgive you your ignorance of our culture and take no offense.His majesty knows this marriage was prepared rather hastily. Rise and walk with me, fair one."

Yuugi blushed at being spoken to as if he were a child, "I just…" He sighed heavily and shook his head, following the tall, friendly form of his escort with resignation.

He looked back at his charge, "I am Sensut, what you would call a noble."

The prince nodded, "I'm honoured to meet you," Yuugi was at a loss as to what to call him, so he let the sentence dangle in the thick silence as they passed into the shade of a stone roof. The pillars supporting the monolithic awning were immense and intricately carved, portraits and animal representations possessed of immaculate detail. The stories he had heard about this land were proving themselves vastly insufficient to describe its wonder.

"You may be puzzled, princess, that there is not more than myself to meet a future member of the court bringing alliance with a close neighbour…." Sensut wrinkled his nose as if to ward off pain he knew was coming, his hands twitching with the need to rub his temples, "Unfortunately you chose a time when the Great House is in some… _slight _upheaval." he grimaced, knowing that was a cryptic way to put it.

Yuugi regarded him cautiously, studying him and learning all he could from his outward attitudes. He had become good at picking out things about a person which taught him a great deal about their character at a glance. This man was tired and frustrated and not a little concerned. "Upheaval…?" He questioned carefully, not wanting to overstep his bounds, realizing they were both being hideously unorthodox already.

Sensut sighed, "I'm afraid its not for me to tell you about that, my princess," he waved his hand apologetically as they walked, "I do not know what would be thought of our conversation."

"It would be thought inappropriate and you- of all _things_ Nut ever breathed life to- should know that best." The voice was dark, toned slightly sinister, arrogant and cold without being completely malicious. It warned, but did not strike. It reminded the prince of an asp, all slinky and strangely mesmerizing, but so obviously not to be trifled with.

As he finished speaking, a brooding figure appeared in the streaks of sunlight blazing through the pillars, washing him into brilliant silhouette until Yuugi's eyes could adjust. When they did he gazed in detached fascination at a slender figure of dwarfing height, flesh gleaming darkly, completely unmarred by hair or imperfection. A leopard skin was drawn loosely around slim hips and hung lifelessly- head and paws carefully kept intact- over one broad, sharply boned shoulder and at his thin wrists black bracelets lay cold against his skin. His scalp was clean-shaven and meticulously washed, the hair of his eyebrows missing too; even his eyelashes had been groomed. The cleanliness and adornment extended from head to toe, even the sandals on his feet were held in place by gold thrashes.

"First Prophet Seth," Sensut's voice was deep and booming, his eyes lowered in humility as he bowed, so low his knees scrapped the floor. He continued, still speaking Carni, out of politeness to his charge, "May I present the Princess Yuugi of Carni, bride of the Lord of the Two Lands, price of our alliance with her nation."

Yuugi curtsied again, pearls clacking with his somewhat awkward movement. He was too nervous for grace, all of a sudden, now that he had met someone who was _obviously _important while in the middle of an uncouth conversation in a back hallway of some sort. _Goddess, isn't_ this_ going well_.

Seth, the 'First Prophet'- Yuugi didn't know what that was- eyed him through suspicious slits and then sniffed dismissively, "The _Son of Ra _Atemhotep needs nothing less than another wife, especially _now,_ especially when he doesn't use the ones he's _got._ Carni is not a useful place and it is ruled by a covetous, greedy mockery of a man, why an alliance with him?"

"You would do well, cousin," another voice interrupted, "to remember- before you speak of such matters- your _place._"

_This _voice made Yuugi's breath catch in his throat; it held such an unspeakable command about it that he knew instantly to whom it belonged. The god-King, the Lord of the Two Lands, the Son of Ra, whatever they chose to call him… he was truly, magnificently a _King. _His voice was low and rumbled in the pit of one's stomach, reverberating like thunder, full of fierce nobility. It was arrogant and vaguely vain, but still kind and world-weary. It was melodic, lilting over words, carefully enunciating each one and infusing it with meaning and intent- not a voice that spoke without consideration of every single implication of what it said. It was a cultivated voice, one that had been partially affected.

With the King's sudden presence everyone in the room threw themselves to the floor, prostrating themselves before his sandaled feet. Sensut kissed the sandy filth of the floor just in front of his lord's foot, Seth kissed the foot itself. Yuugi had gone down with them, but made no move to approach the King.

There was a soft rustling of cloth, a padding of light footsteps and a hand rested itself unobtrusively on Yuugi's bowed head, "Look, child, have no fear."

It was Him.

Yuugi lifted his gaze slowly, eyes drifting from golden sandals up lithe, muscled calves to the edge of the King's garment, a _schenti, _a kilt-like affair in painfully pristine white linen, woven with utmost care and starched to _perfection_. He wore a belt that Sensut lacked, laced with gold and stripes of a light blue and black in thick, horizontal lines. His slender, shapely chest was bare, miles of beautiful glistening golden skin, taunt over just-visible muscles. At the throat he wore a _shebiu_, or jeweled collar, tiny anhks, flails and falcon charms layered with coloured beads. On his brow he wore the _pschent_, the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt and the golden cobra, poised to strike, seemed to stare at Yuugi measuringly from the extravagant headdress.

His eyes were ruby-brown and something seemed to glow in their depths. His face was angular, slender like his body, his features sharp and well-defined, the cut of his cheekbones and jaw harsh and straight. The bridge of his nose and the slant of his eyebrows elegant and regal, not a curve to be found. Until his lips. His lips were full, as was the nature of his race, and the lower pouted out slightly, generous and looking like it could be easily pulled into a wide grin- it looked, in fact, as though it were experiencing difficulty resisting that very urge at any given moment. The King's eyes were lined with black just as Sensut's were and his lower eyelids discoloured with a green tinge, making his already exotic, severe and beautiful face almost pop with the awesome fantasy of it all.

His lips twitched, finally drawing back into that easy smile Yuugi had suspected all along- and the small prince's worries briefly fluttered out and died, lost in the vision of the King. The beautiful, beautiful King; exotic and kind, perhaps he would not sentence death? Perhaps he would even… _understand_?

The Lord of the Two Lands had long, slender, nimble fingers that curved delicately under Yuugi's chin to bring his eyes directly to his, "Welcome little Queen, to Kemet, the Black Land."

__

HISTORY BITES!

_-The 'Son of Ra' is a divine title of the pharaoh._

_-Atemhotep (meaning: the god, Atem, is satisfied), I have decided, is Yami's full _nomen_ name. The name given to him at birth and his 'Son of Ra' title name._

_-Yes, people really kissed the dirt in front of pharaoh's foot, unless they were in particular favour- then they could kiss his actual foot._

_-The title 'pharaoh' is not being used within the narrative (unless I make a mistake, which I am wont to do) because it didn't exist in the Fourth Dynasty, where we have set our stage._

_-This was the time of the God-kings, when the Pharaoh was considered a god and was the only person in Egypt garunteed an after life. That changed later with the advancement of the Osiris cult._

_Kemet means literally, 'the black land', meaning the Nile Valley where Egypt was/is. This is what the Egyptians called their land._

_-the _nemes _headdress is the famous one, cloth with stripes on it hanging either side of the face and gathered in a sort of pony tail behind. Everyone's seen them, you'd know it if you saw it. :)  
_

_-Questions? Just ask. If I missed something or was too lazy to look something up and you see a mistake, please correct me!_

_An: This reminds you of _Sabriel_! Wow! Thank-you! That's an amazing book, as is the sequel, I just read them a couple of months ago for the first time. I only hope to aim so high in quality!_

_Thank-you for the reviews!  
_


	4. A Little Help From My Friends

MODERN DAY

Chapter Four

"All together now…"

Yugi slung his legs over the arm of the couch, tossing his hand over his eyes and sighing dramatically. His head spun for hours every time they left the Shadows for the comfortingly mundane reality of the game shop; even with Yami's protection the Darkness still drained his precious life-energy and left him dizzy with weakness. He couldn't really explain what he lost on those journeys, not something he was conscious of until it wasn't there- not to mention something Yami seemed to have in infinite supply.

"What I don't get is why didn't he just attack yous while he had the chance?" Joey's usually easy-going drawl was tight and his lanky frame was twisted up into a position tense enough to burst on the other end of the couch. He didn't take to tension well, and tension didn't sit well on him.

"I don't know, Joey…" Yugi sighed and sat up, feeling marginally better, but not altogether well. He'd had a fleeting mental image of Yami's ghostly hand resting on his forehead and knew his other half had been healing him again, giving up his own energies to help his partner.

_(And why shouldn't I?) _Yami sounded abstractly indignant, his inner voice resonating just at the edges of Yugi's hearing, probably mindful of his still-aching head.

_/I don't like it/ _Yugi replied stubbornly, _/I think it affects you more than you let on./_

Yami snorted and his spectral form flickered into being in the doorway opposite the couch, _(I'm going to contact the others. I think this warrants some kind of meeting considering they _will _be dragged into the proceedings eventually despite my best efforts.)_

Yugi smiled at his Darkness coyly and turned back to Joey, "I think it's got something to do with Egypt- well, obviously it always does…" he sniffed, frustrated. "I mean, I think it's someone who was pretty close to Pharaoh at some point, of course not a friend or anything like that, just…" Yugi trailed off again, aware this was going nowhere at blinding speed.

_/Yami, is there a reason I can't think straight/ _He rubbed his temple tiredly, feeling distinctly stupid for no apparent reason.

_(Mmm… Might be that wind the necromancer threw at us, Death spells are almost always difficult to direct or channel properly, and I'm still sure he didn't plan on that wind originally. It was unstable… He might have effected you accidentally, subtly enough that I didn't sense it. Do you want me to check you out?)_

_/That'd be nice./ _Yugi stood and threw an apologetic glance at Joey, knowing he was ignoring him more than usual in favour of his internal dialogue. Joey seemed to understand these things better than the rest of the gang, though, (probably because he lived with them,) and didn't take offence.

"No problem, Yug'," he said without needing to be told, "I'm just gonna go and see if Tristan an' Tea are around at Burger World. Figure we should talk to 'em before we do anythin' anyway." He waved off his friend's surprised look, tapping his head knowingly and smirking, "I can tell when ya need a second, Yug', you an' the Pharaoh have some spooky magic thing to do." He wriggled his fingers and grimaced to illustrate.

Yugi laughed, "Thanks Joey…"

As soon as the door was closed behind his best friend, Yugi felt the warm and intimately familiar strands of Yami's Shadow Magic trickling seekingly over his form. The physical check was brief and the magic soon turned inward, to the stone corridor and the infinite depths of Yugi's mind and aura. It made him shiver; it was always like a breath of sweet, yet spicy summer air, super-heated and achingly real and tangible, almost burning his throat. A mixed caress for a part of himself no one else could even see. He sighed.

_(I don't…) _Yami's strong presence lingered and hung on the 'air', his voice coming from deep within the recesses of Yugi's mind and echoing up the usual passage as if from a distance. _(Wait-)_

There was a strange mental -click- in Yugi's head and he found himself falling to his knees on the floor, his hands raised to cover his ears, but frozen centimeters away from actually doing so. His vision swam then slowly cleared over and over again in waves of haze like a television being tuned. He let out a low moan and shook himself, images not belonging to his own memory flooding him and overwhelming his senses- coming complete with their original atmospheres, smells and tastes and feelings-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach.

_'…just one little girl'_

_'Don't think…'_

_'Your majesty! No!'_

_'…can't help you now, little one, I can't…'_

_'She's _mine _and no one can take her from me!'_

_'…think this is the best course of action…'_

_'You forget I am not an ordinary man, my friend! I am a god!'_

_'You're a thief!'_

_'…save her…'_

_'Remember me…'_

_'…Not long at all.'_

Like a radio, someone rolling the tuner knob back and forth over static and clarity and never capturing more than an instant, a moment out of time, never leaving him in any one place long enough to properly orient himself to what he was seeing, hearing, feeling…

A beautiful youth with golden skin reclining lazily on a golden throne, regarding him with sharp, dark eyes and flicking an ornamental flail back and forth over his bare leg, thrown haphazardly over the arm of the throne. Fantastic jewels and bracelets dripping from every possible portion of his anatomy, slinky ebony black hair sliding over broad shoulders and thin, sinewy chest. Majestic beyond any imagination, regal and commanding and ruthless and cruel… and yet delicately wonderful, long elegant fingers betraying a subtle tenderness….

An infinitely defiant fiery-eyed teenager, tanned and tattooed, long white locks hanging loose in his face and down his bare back, callused hands gripping tightly to a rope attached to a sickeningly obvious bundle… Screaming and violence and the clash of swords, a familiar voice raised in rage… the beautiful youth being held back by a shadowy figure, ominously silent.

The man in the cowl and the smell of burning flesh everywhere, screams of anguish more terrible than a thousand deaths. The youth again, eyes glowing ruby with the reflection of the awful blaze, golden skin turned ruddy as the flames licked higher and higher, the screams growing louder. His expression stoic, the grim, determined line of his mouth set in stone and arms crossed over his narrow chest in resolute decision.

'What must be done…'

___'_Only my duty___…____'_

___'_I am but a servant to __my people...___'_

'…ends justify the means___…_'

'Forgive me…'

Yugi slumped onto his kitchen floor where he had started to walk when the visions came, his cheek burned against the cool tile, as if the heat of the great blaze was still in his skin. He couldn't remember… he had been trying to stop something… someone… someone he had thought he could trust with everything and to always do right by anyone had been causing this great suffering. He couldn't stand it… had to stop him.

The man in the cowl.

"Yami…" he croaked, feeling his throat tighten, his mouth parched as though he'd walked a league in a desert without water. He stretched a hand foreword in desperation, struggling for purchase on the slippery linoleum floor to push himself to his feet.

Strong hands grabbed hold of his shoulders and hauled him up, ushering him into the living room and onto the couch. Yami stood over him then, solid and real, unearthly crimson eyes glinting dangerously with an unfathomable emotion Yugi was almost afraid to contemplate. That emotion, that searching in his gaze filled up Yugi's mind so completely he didn't even startle at this wonder- that Yami was standing before him at all, real enough to lift him. He didn't question it for a moment, as if it had always been, didn't question the changes in his Darkness' appearance.

It was simply the way it was, and he knew it was Yami. It could be no one else.

He was naked except for the towel he'd slung around his slender hips, apparently seized out of the hall closet for lack of anything else to wear. His skin was darkly tanned golden bronze and sleek as was characteristic of his nation, his hair lying limp and long instead of in the wild spikes Yugi affected, the red disappearing out of it leaving only deep black and bright gold bangs. His eyes were more almond-shaped, his lips more full. He looked… real.

"It seems I have the strength to take my form after all…" he murmured strangely, more to himself than to his partner, his voice suddenly far more lilting, coloured by an accent and a hesitation it had never had before. The hesitation of not speaking his native tongue. Then his flashing eyes settled on Yugi, questing and almost sad, "What happens to us, small one?"

Yugi let his eyes drift shut tiredly, "I may have a lead on that necromancer."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The others, when they arrived with Joey some half hour later, had quite a shock.

When they entered the living room, Yami was standing behind Yugi's place on the couch, his arms crossed over his chest and a brooding look settled firmly over his sharply handsome features. He was, now obviously, nothing like the twin of Yugi they had all individually concluded he would be. He had about a foot of height on his partner and five years of growth, his arms were still thin, but muscled and his chest and shoulders were thickened with maturity absent on Yugi's short form. Though he was still slender, his lean figure held an obvious strength.

His long black hair and wild blond bangs shadowed his features, but his dark eyes still gleamed visible under regally arched black brows, furrowed in some silent vexation. Slim fingers trailed down his arm to rest on Yugi's shoulder as the teen sat down. No one really took notice that Yami was clothed in one of Granpa's shirts and a towel; it really didn't seem important.

Tea gaped, "Ph- pharaoh?"

"Yug', what happened?" Joey's auburn eyes were the size of dinner plates.

Tristan was silent, just staring and staring.

Yugi took a deep breath and slowly released it. "Something strange happened today," he began wearily.

Joey nodded, "I told 'em about the Shadow Realm and that wizard guy yous met."

"He…" Yami's voice was uncertain and he seemed to struggle, his grip on Yugi's shoulder tightening, "He hath placed over us- he has done us to- urg!"

He broke away from the gathering, his face heating up in a mixture of frustration and embarassment, an emotion he had thought he would never be forced to face again. This new weakness was unsettling him almost more than his form did, because it meant that this physical shape he could now take was somehow... his true shape? He leaned his forehead against the wall, brimming with irritation and doubts, his knuckles thunking dully on the plaster.

Yugi rose and walked around to his Darkness with speed none of his friends knew he posessed, wrapping his arms around this new Yami's slim waist, completely unintimidated by the changes or the difficulties, his hold laxing only slightly as he spoke again. "After we got back Yami searched my mind for traces of magic because I sensed something wrong. When he found it, I don't know… something happened and I saw all these… And when I woke up…."

Yami turned again, hand trailing through Yugi's hair absently, his gaze staying on the floor, "I discover I could hold to... shapes in this... realm. It is… useful, but as I am not so closely bound to Yugi… I…." He grimaced, trying to find words, "The link is not as easy… I do not speak English…" he trailed off.

"What he means is, when he's inside my body we share the same mind- sort of. And Yami uses everything that I know, including my knowledge of the English language. So now, since he's not used to having to actually use the link to speak- because it's always right there when he's in control of my body- he's having some difficulty." Yugi glanced up at his Darkness, pondering, "It seems to help if we keep in touch."

Joey frowned, a great furrow forming in his brow under his chaotic mass of bangs, "Sos, he would be speaking Egyptian right now, if he wasn't tryin' to speak English? Whoah, man, I bet that could actually help us- you know, since he couldn't read hieroglyphs and stuff before because he couldn't remember."

Yugi's eyes lit up, "Great idea, Joey! I hadn't thought of that!" He smiled at Yami, who tried to smile back for Yugi's sake.

Tea was still staring in detached shock, unable to wrap her head around seeing both Yugi and the pharaoh at the same time. It was so strange to see them standing side by side, not only strange, but completely throwing her off balance. She had thought she understood them, had believed that there was only one Yugi and that they were _both _Yugi; halves of the same whole. The different sides of the same person, somehow seperated by the magic of the Items. Now, faced with Yami's physical reality, she didn't know _what_ to think. And yet another layer made her shift uncomfortably as she watched the inhuman _intimacy_ between Yugi and his Darkness, a sense of belonging and complete familiarity that she'd never seen equaled.

"Why would the evil wizard guy want Yami to be able to have his own... er, form?" She asked finally, her real thinking power still a million miles from the problem.

"I know not." Yami answered darkly, "I know not whether it was… whether he intended this or… even had anything to do with it." He smiled grimly at having completed a sentence.

"If not him…" Tristan mused aloud, "Who could give you that power?"

The Pharaoh gave an elaborately graceful shrug, "The gods?" He asked rhetorically and promptly disappeared back into his soul room leaving no trace of his presense.

_(I never thought I'd miss this place so much.) _He muttered, flopping onto the stone floor, clothed again in Yugi's school uniform, which could fit him here where no real rules applied. Outwardly, Yugi hide a smile.

"I don't know, guys," Yugi said diplomatically to his freshly unnerved friends, "It looks as though this is another one of the 'long haul' sort of problems. Yami's worried about how we could be affected and if it might prove dangerous for him to take physical form…" Wide blue eyes stilled as he listen to the voice no one else could hear, "He thinks it may be a trap to… _spilt us up_?"

Yugi's colour drained at the thought. There was nothing more horrible than being torn away from Yami- when Marik had stolen the puzzle and his other's mind voice had slowly faded away…

He'd felt like half of him was missing, paralyzed on one side, impotent to help anyone, let alone himself, without knowing Yami would be there. He wondered sometimes if he was getting too dependant or if it was all part of the magic that held them together… He liked to think it was just because he cared so much and not because he had no choice but to be with his Darkness. He'd been fine before he'd solved the puzzle, hadn't he? A little bored and unfulfilled…

"We've got to figure out how this happened!" Yugi announced in a tone that allowed no argument, his small fist coming down on the coffee table with a loud crack.

"Yug'…" Joey started.

"Naw, Joey, he's right, the Pharaoh's supposed to save us again like he did in ancient times- we can't let this guy get in the way." Tristan crossed his arms coolly, "So where do we start?"

Tea pushed her hair back out of her face, wondering if she was up to starting another one of these cockazany adventures and deciding she had no real choice. "The Shadow Realm?"

Yugi nodded.

-

_AN: That was an extremely meh chapter, my apologies. I shall edit it henceforth. Anyway, thanks to _**lucidscreamer **_for pointing out the 'peeks' typo. I hate typos. As for _indigence, _I really don't know what happened there, something is very screwy with my spellcheck. Stupid Microsoft Word. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please keep telling me what you think! And, I know this isn't going to be completely accurate to the show or the manga already- but if there's any _really _offensive errors or I switch back and forth between Japanese and English names, don't hesitate to correct me. smile_


	5. In the Chamber of the Great Royal Wife

Author's Notes: _Thanks to _**Halys**_ for the lovely long review. :) The research is less work and more play for me, because I've been obsessed with Ancient Egypt for as long as I can remember. I actually don't need to research most of this stuff. I do have reasons for placing Yami in the 4th dynasty, what most of them were I've already forgotten, but I'll try to offer some explanation. I thought a lot about it and tried to follow canon at first (1005 BC), but then he's in the 3rd intermediate period close to the decline. The New Kingdom is the period most people know a lot about, but the priests of Amon (Amon-Re) had become so powerful they were almost in partnership with Pharaoh. In the Old Kingdom before the rise of Thebes and the cults of Amon and Osiris, Pharaoh was a god in his own right and power was extremely centralized. Plus, the economy was booming and the people were living well. I think this is where Yami belongs._

_Next to nothing is known about how Egyptian's performed marriages- the only source I have says they didn't have a ceremony, just a party X/. So that's why I'm not describing that. Readers may notice the lack of "billowing silk bed curtains" in this story. This is because in Ancient Egypt, not only did they not have SILK, they didn't have the kind of BED you are describing. No, no huge wooden four poster bed with satin sheets and silky curtains all in red. Just stop that train of thought before it starts. Go home; cry a little, you'll be fine._

_Thanks (again g) to _**lucidscreamer**_, don't think you got my message edited into the last chapter._

**EGYPT: 2498 BC**

Chapter Five

i- na Xaa – kua Xu – kua user – kua neteri - kua

I have come, I am crowned, I am glorious, I am mighty, I am strong

Yuugi found himself completely swept up in the King's wake, everything and everyone else seeming just as overwhelmed by this presence, the very sun seemed to shine more brilliantly in his radiance as the anointed King passed between the mammoth pillars into the light. Yuugi couldn't explain it, but he gave off such an incredibly aura of poise and presence the spacious, open stone hallways felt absolutely filled to capacity, brimming with atmosphere alone. The First Prophet, Seth, walked at his king's side, the two deep in conversation, one soft, musical voice and one sharp with a strange devious edge along it, the King's elegant hands expressing more than his words at various points in the quiet discussion.

Seth, who was impossibly tall and definitely at least a full head and shoulders above the king, seemed dwarfed by this quiet, softly imposing, gently majestic figure who spoke in gesture. The idea that the Lord of the Two Lands was indeed a god come to earth was becoming less and less unlikely in Yuugi's awed perception, else he would be forced to reach the conclusion of his countrymen; that he was in the presence of a genie. With a strange tingling feeling encompassing more of him for every moment he was with the King, he was prepared to accept any explanation for the way this man seemed far, far more than human. Goddess aside, Yuugi was already mostly convinced the people of the black land had it right, though he had yet to admit it to himself.

The party paused suddenly in the sandy corridor, the King's flick of the wrist plunging them all into silence. The King's guards- who were so adept at staying out of the way Yuugi had to keep reminding himself that they were there at all- rested hands on the short, straight copper swords at their sides, ready to obey any orders they might receive. His majesty, however, was not looking at them; he turned slowly to observe his latest acquisition, dark eyes narrowing for a moment before his expression was kind again.

"This, little princess, was where you were meant to have met us for our inspection before the feast. We are not sorry for the deviation from what was intended, but you must learn from this moment henceforth that every word and deed you perform outside your chambers will be carried out to our utmost specification…." He let this hang for a moment, looking down with an unfathomable emotion in his eyes, "When you have been given," he continued abruptly, motioned toward Sensut, "Kemet shall have feasting in honour of our union and you and we retire together to the chambers of the Great Royal Wife. There, we have decided, you shall live- " Dark ruby-brown eyes glanced sharply at Seth, glittering dangerously, "As it please us."

Seth was silent, but his expression was grim. The King had obviously not followed some advice of his and had made it clear the discussion of said issue was very much over. He inclined his head to his ruler, then bowed onto the floor again before backing down the corridor and turning to leave.

Yuugi curtsied as low as he could, bowing his head and wondering if he should say anything in reply to this announcement. His manners were more out of genuine respect, at this point, than any lingering hope in his heart; if they were to retire together right after the wedding feast, the odds were good that the King would discover him long before he had the chance to make a good impression and confess his situation. Gaining sanctuary from his father and averting impending disaster for his people was too important to give on, but his optimism was dwindling rapidly and he had already turned a small portion of his inward thought to preparing to meet his maker.

"High Priest," the King spoke again.

Seth froze, only a few steps away from where he had turned to leave. He faced his liege again, bowing almost double, but not falling to the floor as he had done before. It seemed acceptable enough, because the King motioned him foreword. "Your majesty?"

"You return to dwell in the temple of Ptah in one week's time, do you not?" the King had made some slight movement of the head and Seth sank to his knees after all.

"It is so, your majesty," the priest answered, his eyes fixed on the King's golden sandals. Yuugi was happy that at least now he knew what a First Prophet was, but he did not stir from his own prostrate position, watching from beneath his cloth headdress' hangings. It all seemed so grand and formal- far more royal than his father's court could ever hope to be- and they were standing in a hallway.

The King sighed slightly, too quiet for the guards standing nearby to hear, "And it has been four months, we remember… you must return…" He was silent for a long moment of contemplation, "On the morrow at midday you will attend our further pleasure in Hathor's Garden outside the palace. Watch for our coming and disturb nothing of the sacred trees… we shall need the good will of the goddess. Now, all," his voice suddenly snapped loud and commanding over all the assembled company, "We go to feasting!"

Yuugi found himself left alone in the hallway with Sensut- again. He blinked owlishly at the man in whose care he had been left.

Sensut smiled at him, secretly amused over something, "I will present you to the King, since your own royal father is not here to do so…" he hesitated, looking uncomfortable, "You should know, princess, that all Kemet does not share the tolerance of his gracious majesty when it comes to… Well, outsiders often do not know their place and their arrogance offends... if nobles know nothing else, it must be said that they know how to hold a grudge…" He seemed to be talking to himself more than to Yuugi and it almost made the prince giggle.

"What is it you wish to warn me about, Sensut?" He asked, trying to hold down his amusement. The last thing he needed was one breach of control that could start his descent into hysterics.

"I am saying…" Sensut looked over at him and sighed heavily, "Outsiders are known to be inferior and most of the court will not accept the _Son of Ra_'s decision lightly- to say the least. Some believe it borders on sacrilege to knit the King to a foreigner… It does not happen often, my princess."

Yuugi's brow knit in confusion; if they didn't ever allow these sort of political marriages, if the King's pure blood was brought into jeopardy by his presence… if this would create unrest in the nobles and priests- why on earth was his greatness, king Atemhotep _doing _it? It wasn't as if it really mattered if he upset Carni or not, his court and crown mattered more than a little backward nation off the border- even if the threat was small. There was something afoot here no one was talking about, something that wasn't quite right…. Yuugi's mind turned back to the conversation between the priest Seth and the King, but it revealed nothing more than that the King wished Seth to remain in the palace.

"I do hope I have not offended, princess," Sensut was saying, taking his long silence for indignity, "I was only trying to warn you of what to expect when the King is not there to silence the gentry."

Yuugi shook himself out of his reverie, "Fear not, your nobles cannot be blamed. Outsiders, at least those of my own country, are indeed inferior to your people. No other way about it- I've never seen anything like this city, nor have I seen anyone like your King. This place is… something else." He smiled faintly. It was an understatement.

Sensut returned the smile uncertainly, "Truly…" he looked ahead and they passed into silence.

Until a cacophony of drumming reverberated within the hall where the King had disappeared. The cry of a crowd followed and Sensut looked down at Yuugi with another small smile, "It is time, little princess."

Yuugi stared up at him, wide-eyed, his lips firmly pressed together to keep from crying out his whole story and pleading for deliverance from his current tribulation. Instead he raised his hand, laying it on Sensut's elbow for security, glancing up into his guardian's face for permission to leave it there. Sensut nodded once, then raised his chin and started foreword.

TIMEITMIEMITMITIME

The feast was resplendent, there had been beef, veal, antelope, gazelle, fruits, honeyed sweetmeats, cakes and bread all in quantities Yuugi could barely conceive of, there had been dancing girls and acrobats and a teller of tales. Everything and everyone was perfumed, the people wore fine white linen and dripped with gold, but no one equaled the solemn, aloof beauty of the King. Yuugi was uncomfortable thinking that as he watched his new 'husband' sip wine and converse with the nobles around him, but he had been unable to shake the thought. His goddess was looking more and more impotent the longer he watched.

It was that same something he had observed before, that strange grace and elegance which completely set this man apart. When he moved it was deliberate, when he spoke the room hushed slightly to hear the musical lilt of his words, if not enough to hear the words themselves. Everything seemed to slow down, to almost pause near him and Yuugi couldn't tear his eyes or his thoughts away- it wasn't an attraction, it was an alien compulsion, a lingering fascination for what was decidedly Otherworldly. Yuugi had spent most of his life wishing he could come to this land, wishing he could learn more about the strange idea of a god-king… now faced with it, its plausibility frightened him.

The feast raged on around him, various entertainments passing through the great hall and various platters of food circled the room in the arms of the near-naked servant girls, their black wigs flying as they swirled passed. All of it was a blur as he struggled to think more clearly, turn his musings to how he could convince the King not to spend his wedding night with his bride. Before he could even begin to think a hand fell heavily on his shoulder and he was being led away again.

SHIFTSHIFTSHIFTSHIFTSHIFTSHIFT

Yuugi sat carefully on the low wooden platform, hung heavily with near transparent linens, scented with the same heady, sweet-smelling perfume that everything seemed to be doused in here in the palace. The ornate legs of the bed were carved and decorated with gold inlay and gold head rests sat innocently at the higher end of the slanted surface, ready to receive their sleepy patrons, lotus flowers littered the floor, glistening wetly as if they had just been picked. All the furniture in the big, open room was of the same light build, curved backs and seat for the chairs and the lounge, thin arm rests and legs carved and painted in minute detail, patterns chasing each other around the wood.

The lamps gave off no smoke, the servants having sprinkled salt into each little bowl of oil, the wicks sitting low to keep the light soft and ruddy, casting on orange glow over the room and creating giant flickering shadows over the walls. The chill stone of the floor was swept clean, all the furniture freshly scrubbed and all the linens brilliantly white; everything was mysterious and beautiful in the lamplight. He had never lived like this before.

Yuugi's heart leapt into his throat when a sound from the hall alerted him to his King's arrival in this the chamber of the Great Royal Wife. The Lord of the Two Lands swept into the room in a dozen light, quick steps that agitated his clothing and almost gave the appearance of floating over the stone floor. It was the first time Yuugi had seen him without the hovering presence of his guards about him and the first time his crown was gone from his brow. Long ebony black locks fell over his shoulders, full of tiny braids woven with delicate golden trinkets and beads- Yuugi wondered absently whether or not it was a wig.

The King's many-layered beaded necklace shone in contrast to his dark skin, glittering in the flickering light as his many gold adornments shone as if freshly polished. The atmosphere was so thick Yuugi felt vaguely light-headed; the serene, knowing look on the harshly beautiful features of the King was not helping him to gather himself together.

The _Son of Ra _came foreword and Yuugi fell to his knees again, touching his brow to the floor at the King's feet before- helpless to his own curiosity- he raised an anxious glance. The King regarded him down the sharp line of his nose; shoulders squared and chin raised, royal dignity practically oozing from his pores. "Tell me, little princess, what are we to you?"

"My king," Yuugi answered before thinking, realizing this was the truth and hoping it was appropriate.

His posture relaxed slightly and his expression became somewhat closer to gentle, "Just your king? One day we shall ask for more from you, there is more you must accept; but we will not begin your education on this the first night of your new life…. Tonight," he lowered himself to Yuugi's level, folding his long legs elegantly beneath him, "Tonight and at all times within the confines of this room, I am your husband and you are my wife and there shall be no class between us. In this room, you may think of me as… within reach." He smiled slightly, tilting his head at his bride, gentle fingers rising to cup Yuugi's sharp chin and force him to meet his gaze.

The young prince's eyes were wide, mystified at this magnificent being's strange aspirations to ordinary relations, to claim- even very temporary, very restricted- equal standing with anyone, even his wife. He had not expected the crown to come off and was unprepared to deal with this generosity.

"Wh- " he fumbled, wondering if he might overstep the bounds of this new arrangement.

"Have no fear, you are strange to our customs, I will suspend offense." The King breathed, his tone light, eyes drifting searchingly over Yuugi's face.

Yuugi swallowed, "What shall I call you?"

With a bell-like tinkling of golden hair ornaments his tilted his head again, considering, "Whatever manner of name pleases you, little one, I have a great many names… Given more than I was born with when I took my place." He was being extremely generous, more generous perhaps than he ought to be, Yuugi could see it in his suddenly unguarded face.

"Is there one of those you would like for me to use?" the prince asked carefully, aware that the King might regret giving him so much freedom later on.

"My cousin Seth- the First Prophet, son of my father's brother- gave me a name in childhood…" he mused, smiling distantly, "Not an official name, for princelings are not of consequence… only he called me such. You may use it now, for it is a word in your language, small wife, you are permitted to call me Yami."

"Majestic…" Yuugi translated under his breath, seeing why it had been fitting. He flushed as the King turned to look at him and the corner of his full mouth twitched in amusement. "Thank you, your majesty… Yami." He bowed his head.

Yami looked pleased and rose gracefully to his feet, going over to a tall vase and pouring water into a bowl on the low table. Then he settled himself on one of the elegant, delicate-looking chairs, beckoning Yuugi to his side.

The prince stood, feeling faint, knowing the time when he would be discovered was drawing nearer and nearer all the time. He felt the strangest sensation of not caring that it would mean his death, would have stopped caring altogether in the haze of this most unfathomable day and the comfort of this luxurious room but for the question of war. Like a storm on the horizon, threatening everything he held sacred; he couldn't allow his father's plan to succeed, couldn't betray his people or Kemet's so easily… And any moment now he would have a plan. Any moment. He walked to the King's side, nevertheless, feeling odd to be higher than him.

Yami reached up and guided Yuugi's hands- without touching them, though he was millimeters from it- raising them to his face as if to inspect them. If he noticed their paleness he didn't give any sign, "Cleanse yourself and come back to me."

Yuugi turned to the bowl of water, dipping his hands and rolling them over each other in the clear, cool water, only now realizing why Yami had put it there. Despite any words spoken, the King was the King, was a god, was most definitely higher than any other- and Yuugi was a foreigner who needed to wash away his inferior filth before he could touch what was far above him. He leaned over and rinsed his face and neck, too, water dripping beneath his scarves and down his chest, making him shiver. He dried his hands on the linen next to the bowl and turned back to the King.

Yami took his hands this time, raising them again to his face in mock inspection, he touched the tips of Yuugi's fingers to his cheek, his eyes on his bride's face, then he pressed his lips chastely to each palm. He looked up again, into Yuugi's eyes, "There is nothing I would take from you not freely given… it is my wish that you be happy here, where you will live the rest of your life." Yami's serious gaze was making him fidget, but he understood then, in a rush, that his husband was releasing him from the duties of a wife on her wedding night. His secret was safe! At least for one night, one night that Yami could certainly forgive him… one night that could be enough to think of what to do. The tension fell from his slim shoulders and he smiled gratefully at the King.

Yami did not return the smile, though his eyes were kind, but lifted Yuugi's hands again to put his fingers against his earlobe. He guided Yuugi's small fingers in a swoop over the curve of soft flesh, then down to the screw of the long golden earring hanging from the King's ear. Yami's touch closed his hands around the bauble and then fell away, eyes meeting Yuugi's again. Comprehension dawning, Yuugi looked over Yami's long, slender form, he noticed again that his whole person positively dripped with jewelry. Gold arm braces, bracelets, armlets, anklets, rings- on his fingers and toes- his huge necklace, heavy earrings and clasps higher up and an amulet slung around his waist.

Yuugi swallowed nervously at the intimacy removing it all would require… he supposed that was the point, a calm, unfrightening, mundane way to bring him close to his new husband, make him comfortable with touching him… except it wasn't. He concentrated all of his attention of the tiny screw that held the earring in place, deciding as long as he didn't think about what he was _really _doing he would be all right. He twisted gently, golden clasp slowly loosening until he caught the heavy gold as it fell. Unable to help himself he ran his fingers over the pierced earlobe, feeling the hole, stretched with the weighty gold- it was strange to him, something that wasn't done in his country.

Trembling slightly he took the other earring, insanely conscious of Yami tilting his head just a fraction to give him easier access. Next was the broad necklace, held in place with an ornate counterweight, wrought in gold and inlaid with precious stones. His knuckles slide against Yami's long, elegant neck, the bronze skin feeling scorchingly hot under his hands as he worked the clasp. Necklace, bracelets, braces; all came away with the release of their ingenious little hidden clasps and Yuugi set them all carefully aside on the low table next to the bowl of water where he had washed himself.

Rings were next and he tried not to shake too much as he held long, slender, perfect hands in his and gently guided the gold bands from slim, nimble fingers. Still Yami's skin against his was uncomfortably warm and the softness of his hands made Yuugi hurry through the task. The King's feet were immaculate, showing so little wear as Yuugi knelt to remove the jewelry there, that he almost wondered if Yami ever walked more than a few steps at a time. Anklets and toe rings and then the painfully embarrassing moment of putting his arms around the King's waist to find the clasp of the amulet. The warmth of the domestic scene was stifling and oppressive and yet something he almost didn't want to end for reasons he didn't understand.

As the last chink of gold was laid safely on the table Yami rose again, his bare feet silent against the stone floor as he walked over to his bride, standing behind Yuugi at the table and resting a hand on his arm.

"I don't know what to do…" Yuugi whispered, his voice strained.

"You have given me everything I have asked of you, have shown your desire to be to me what I wish you to be…" Yami's voice rose and fell as if in song, his words coaxing, but very serious. Reminding Yuugi to be aware of who and what he was, even in the comfort of their own room, in the shelter of marriage, the safety of Yami's promise he would not take anything not freely given. "…and it is enough."

Yuugi's breath was hitched, "Enough?" It wasn't really a question and he was uncertain even at that moment what he meant.

"It is enough." Yami's fingers curled around his arm and his warm breath tickled Yuugi's ear as the King leaned his whisper close, then brushed his lips very carefully across the heated skin of Yuugi's slender neck to the hollow where it met his shoulder. He pressed a kiss there, then turning, buried his face as his arms closed around Yuugi's waist, his hold loose enough to allow a little distance between their bodies. "Yet there is one last honour I would ask of you, Yuugi of Carni…"

Yuugi turned in his King's grasp, lifting his chin to look up into the eyes of his husband, this strange, noble creature of surreally sublime regality, of Otherness, this god on earth who's dark eyes both commanded and adored. His skin burned as if with fever and yet he felt cool, his head was swamped, his vision distorted as if by water… he felt everything and he felt nothing- a sensation overtaking him he'd never experienced before. The ruby-brown of Yami's eyes glittered almost black in the low light, but nothing could have proven more complexly fascinating…. Three days before he had been a stowaway in the temple of Althen, day-dreaming about leaving Carni and now he was in the arms of the greatest King in the known world, in the greatest country, the richest, the strongest….

He was somewhere he could never have imagined he could be, but he was not overwhelmed by his situation; it was the expression in the depths of those eyes which confounded him, robbed him of his understanding. The King leaned slightly closer, inclining his head, but Yuugi had not even recognized the movement before Yami had bent his head and infinitely soft lips had brushed lightly against his. So quickly he was almost certain it had not happened- his heart thundering in his chest at three times its normal speed and feeling faint again- but Yami met his gaze again and he knew it had.

The King led him to the platform on which he had been sitting what felt like hours ago, guided him down to lay on it, his head in the headrest, without ever touching him. Yami lay down next to him on the small surface, obviously not built for two, and passed his hand down Yuugi's cheek, whispering a good night and lying down for sleep. Yuugi didn't think he would ever fall into the welcome oblivion of slumber with the King lying next to him, but the strain of the day eventually lulled him to close his eyes….

ENDENDENENDNEDN

History Bites? Well… not a whole lot is known about what Pharaohs did behind closed doors, so I figure slight creativity is permissible. Within the range of plausibility. And about the name thing… yeah, it's a bit stupid, it's a bit of a cope out, but I didn't want to be calling Yami 'the king' all the time. And I don't think Yuugi would be calling him Atemhotep. There has to be some relax of formality if they're going to have a relationship and it gives me the added bonus of being able to call him Yami, which I much prefer to Atemu because he's lived in it more. Or something.

I wouldn't normally plug my other stories, but can somebody read Rose Tint My World, please? I think it's sort of neat and I really wish some more people would tell me what they think.


	6. I Thought I Saw

Note that I forgot last time: The 'royal we' (heh) was not contemporary to Ancient Egypt. It was used for the first time by Augustus Caesar in the year thirty. I'm using it because I'm positive the Pharaoh wouldn't use the same speech patterns as everybody else and I've yet to find out what the Egyptians used. So it's a substitute for something that served the same function. Bit hypocritical of me, but it's sort of a translation so it's okay. I hope.

****

MODERN DAY

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Chapter Six

" 'Some other place

Somewhere

Some other time…' "

Moonlight's dim glow filtered unobtrusively through the thin curtains of Yugi's bedroom, striking dust hovering in the air and gathering on the dingy fabric; a soft blue that lit up the humble and cluttered room unassumingly, illuminating without prejudice. The darkness was privy to a minute glimpse of the divine in the figure sitting up in bed against the wall, his small corner of space somehow contriving to be infinitely darker than any other.

In spite of his qualms about the way in which he'd discovered his ability to take his own form, Yami found himself _physically_ sitting at the head of Yugi's bed, staring sightlessly at the floor. He was at a loss for why; why he couldn't sleep, what he was thinking about, why he would risk possible harm for no reason at all... He couldn't even begin. He had been carefully detached from his thoughts and actions as he had waited for everyone, including his partner, to fall asleep, before taking up his vigil and setting Yugi's head safely in his lap... but it was an opportunity to think he'd been sorely wasting so far.

They had all decided (after much discussion) that they needed to try to control the situation as much as they could- as they hadn't been able to in the past- and put a plan of action into play. It was difficult to come up with a plan of any kind when you had no idea who you were facing, whether or not they were even an immediate threat to the reality where people lived or if they were going to attack again any time soon. It was finally decided that they could do very little right away with no idea what they were up against; and Tea had decreed the first order of business was a night of unbroken rest, because who knew when they could afford that luxury again?

Yami knew he was the only one not taking advantage and he found it absurdly comforting to know he was completely alone- as much as he ever could be, since he took Yugi's presence for granted. Dark, exotic and much stronger than he was used to after so long in Yugi's body, his new 'surroundings' gave him plenty to take pause on… but it wasn't what he was thinking about. After so much time being so mind-bogglingly close to Yugi, but never able to touch him with his own hands, embrace him and give comfort or congratulations or consolation… never having seen him with his own eyes... It was all he could do to sit and gaze at the boy sleeping peacefully next to him, a foreign phenomena that he could only sit back and experience in a state of suspended wonder….

He doesn't look at all like he feels on the inside…

And yet…

He wondered if he shouldn't see some small part of himself in Yugi: that they were separate halves of the same soul- a strange sort of blood brother or something- was so engraved into his mind he was shocked not to see the slightest bit of resemblance. Then again, how could anyone reasonably think there would be? Yami was a Pharaoh, it made sense that he'd look like an Egyptian. He wondered still if there was some part of this bond that had been completely passed over, because as he looked and let his fingertips brush over the soft curves of Yugi's face he felt some entirely different emotion of protection and appreciation rising in him. Something he could swear he'd felt before… at a loss as to where.

His brow furrowed momentarily before he brushed the thought aside. It wasn't important. Everything felt different in general, everything evoked new respect and enjoyment from him as he looked at it with his own eyes. How long had it been since he touched something; really touched something, because it was his hand that had reached out and his fingers that brushed the surface… The wood of the desktop was cool and smooth, the drywall hidden under many layers of blue paint was textured, bumpy and strange, the sheets were coarse and ordinary… Yugi's adolescent skin was soft and warm… comforting and familiar.

His attention slowly returned to the prone form across his legs, ruby-brown eyes drawn from the cool, crisp blue silhouette of the window back to what made this place seem like home even though it was suddenly completely alien to him. He felt oddly detached and separate from the rest of the world, stewing in his unbelonging and his inability to reach out to a time in which he was only a shadow. Even as his long fingers tangled themselves curiously in Yugi's wild hair and reveled in the silkiness of it. Stealing secret little pleasures from hiding themselves in his locks, in the folds of the bedclothes, in the hallow of space between Yugi's chin and chest, arm and side, fingers and palm.

Was this only an illusion of reality, or did cheap cotton really feel like that? He couldn't know, he'd never touched it before, not in this life, not with these hands... It was strange to think about it, to know that this was somehow just how he had looked and existed thousands of years before Yugi was born or the continent on which he lived had been colonized or this house had been built. He had lived when this place belonged to nature, had lived and had been something different again than what he felt now. That was right, wasn't it- he'd never been human and had never been free... but he could be now... couldn't he?

Yami's head spun as he remembered for the first time the full significance of his physical self. He wasn't just a warlock of Shadow Magic, wasn't just a King, wasn't just a spirit content to dwell relatively quietly in some adolescent head: Yami,_ Atemhotep_, was a god. He was weary with the implications of that fact before he'd even started to consider them. He had sacrificed himself all those eternities ago, hadn't he? What sort of cosmic backlash had that created- was he still divine? How could he be so fallible if he was divine? How could he not remember how his own religion worked if he were one of the deities- how could anyone forget something like the true faith? Was this body real, did it bring him into his own with the gods or was something else required- or did he give up his divinity along with his life and his memories: Was he still Atemhotep at all?

He shook his head, wincing when this didn't drive the thoughts away. Perhaps Yugi could be distracted from saving the world long enough to get him a book on the religious practices of his native land, though somehow he doubted it would yield any advice for a lost member of the Divine who hadn't quite made it to the heavens... Surely the westerners couldn't have figured out quite that deeply into their affairs… that would be giving them_ far_ too much credit.

__

Gods of Kemet, guide me however you may... Help me… I've forgotten how to pray.

He distracted himself from his desperate attempt at communion by glancing at Yugi again. His only form of kith or kin in this universe, his only connecting link, the only thing that could keep him sane through all of this. His tanned fingers were still pulling themselves through the hair that fell over Yugi's forehead, his shockingly dark skin contrasting sharply to the pale to which he'd become accustomed. Yami smiled grimly at his severely damaged sense of national identity before allowing himself to become fascinated all over again by the vastly different face of his other half, not at all like his own and yet so familiar... so familiar in such an alien way.

He was snapped violently back to reality as his partner squirmed in his sleep and let out small protesting noises as he shifted, the movement growing more and more desperate with each second. Yugi was never restless in his sleep. He never spoke in the night. But shifting became thrashing and whimpers became mumbles and mumbles became full, coherent words and sentences of alarming clarity.

"…isn't happening!" Yugi grunted, sounding all at once annoyed, dismayed and terrified.

"How could you let him die! He was innocent!" he was almost shouting now.

"No! I don't care!"

"Don't you understand that I can't let you do this, no matter who it's for! I want you! I'll _always_ want you... always..." Yugi was sobbing, his limbs flailing wildly as Yami stared down in alarm before finally wresting hold of himself and grabbing Yugi's arms, pinning him to the bed so he could straddle his waist and hold him down. _(Small one! Wake up!)_

Yugi struggled against Yami, but was helpless to his other's vice-like grip and bruising strength. "Please… p-please… don't do this to me." He was whimpering again.

__

(Yugi…) Yami whispered, feeling helpless and loathing every second of it.

The teen's sobs were tiny and pathetic and he went on muttering as he finally stilled, relenting to his Darkness' superior force, "Don't leave me… please… don't leave me…"

All at once he woke with a start, his eyes opening wide, but not looking the slightest bit surprised to find himself in the strange position Yami had wrestled him into, _/Yami! Remember my visions/_

(Yes, but I don't see...) Slightly bewildered and uncertain whether the disturbing fit could be passed off as a bad dream or if he should go on full alert, Yami sounded petulant and annoyed- a sure sign he was worried.

__

/It's the same thing… the same source, it must be! I don't think it's from the necromancer, Yami/ He almost seemed to giggle as he used one hand to push his Darkness off him and onto the mattress with a protesting creak of bedsprings as he shot up into a sitting posture at the same time. _/I think it's somebody or something trying to help us- that's on our side! Isn't that great? I can't wait to tell everybody about it. It'll be easier with someone else on our side, huh Yami/_

The bemused spirit-who-was-not-a-spirit looked up into his other's happily beaming face with a long suffering smile, accustomed to Yugi's sudden bouts of five-year old enthusiasm. _(Undoubtedly.)_

..;:..

The morning proved amusing to Yami, who seemed entirely unaffected by sitting up almost all night and who took no end of joy in the reactions he could so easily provoke from Yugi's friends. He wondered absently when they had become 'Yugi's friends' and not _his _friends, but came to the unsettling realization that in his sudden independence he couldn't really call them that. These people, though he knew _them _inside out and backward, it wasn't his experience getting to know them, it was Yugi's; besides, _they _knew nothing about him and had never been remotely close to invitation inside his impossibly jumbled inner self. The walls he'd built the second he'd been coherent enough to do so when he was released from the puzzle had never come down for anyone but Yugi.

Not that he had had much choice where Yugi was concerned; although he had never thought about it before, he couldn't help believing that he would have let Yugi in regardless- he didn't know how it would have happened, but he felt that it was true down to the inky black depths of his ancient soul. He was not so sure he'd want to let anyone else in. Not that he didn't care about the rest of the gang… he was just… a very private sort of individual. Or something like that.

Yugi was business-like as soon as the troops were seated around the breakfast table, foodstuffs within grabbing distance and everyone at least awake enough to nod at the appropriate times. The small teen laid his hands down on the shiny surface of the tabletop, Yami sitting immediately to his right, a silent, brooding presence with his muscled arms crossed over his chest. Everyone assumed he would contribute little to the meeting.

"I think there's someone out there trying to help us." Yugi said, his soft voice crisp and more confident than usual. He sounded so hopeful, but so serious, it almost made the others at the table sad, though they couldn't have explained why. "I'm not sure if they're in the Shadow Realm or here or… I'm not really sure of anything and Yami says he couldn't sense anything."

Yami took hold of Yugi's hand as subtly as he could, which wasn't very, and cleared his throat; tactfully requesting everyone's patience as tried to speak. "I sense… not a spirit- no living creature- I sense might be a cord- link- " he frowned and looked up at his partner, as if the answers could be found in Yugi's eyes. Perhaps they could. "I sense a _connection, _to what… know not." He shrugged elegantly.

Yugi's hand squeezed his in silent congratulations and then released. "I had more visions last night, that's what prompted all of this."

Joey eyed his friend skeptically, "You think that the visions are from somebody trying to help? But they came with Yami getting his own body last time and all that."

Tea frowned also, "Last time you just came out of the Shadow Realm and your battle with that necromancer, don't you think it might be more than a coincidence? What makes you think it's not the bad guy?" She looked troubled as her gaze traveled from Yugi to Yami and back again, as if unsure who would answer her.

"I don't know, guys," Yugi answered honestly, his bright eyes lit with familiar certainty, "I just know it. I can feel that it's someone who wants to help us- I can _feel _it when I think about what I saw. Haven't we trusted our guts before and been right?"

"What did you see, anyway, Yug? Maybe our guts'll tell us something." Joey, ever practical.

Yugi stilled for a moment, considering, "I saw Pharaoh on the throne- that was yesterday."

Yami stared blankly, alarmed, _(Small one… you did not tell me of this.)_

/I'm sorry, Yami…I just… I didn't feel like I could talk about it./ The sending came with feelings of remorse and sadness along with an imprint of the uncertainty and unease Yugi had felt with the visions when they first came. He turned physically and begged his other half with his eyes to understand.

The darkness blinked against a surprise well of hurt that stung him sharply in the chest, _(You didn't feel you could talk about it with _me_? Yugi, I…)_

"What else did you see, Yugi?" Tristan had cleared his plate and was studying his friend's troubled expression over the syrupy remains of his breakfast.

__

/Other me, Yami_, I'm sorry, I… I'll try to explain later./_

Yugi tried hard to push his sudden guilt to the back of his mind. He hadn't even _thought _to tell Yami about what he had seen, only that he had seen things that might somehow be connected with what was happening to them now- never what he actually saw. He was suddenly doubtful of his own conviction that the visions were from a benevolent source, if they were; what compulsion could possibly keep him from telling the other half of himself from whom he had no secrets? It couldn't have come from within, he would never want to keep something from Yami…

"I saw a man with tattoos and long hair dragging a body and then a terrible fire… something awful was happening, I couldn't see what, but there was a horrible feeling of dread and- and… evil. Then there was people arguing and Pharaoh talking to someone wearing a cloak that covered his face." The teen worried his lip, feeling as if he were leaving something out, but unsure what it was.

Yami stirred uncomfortably, suddenly hating his incredible dependence on Yugi as he put his hand out for contact again. Warmth closed over his fingers, but he tried not to think too much about it. "In night, partner, you begged one not to leave you… were say that you would want them always. Remember you now what you saw?"

Yugi paled and his grip on his Darkness tightened. "I don't know what I saw… but the sadness… almost overwhelmed me. Something very terrible happened to whoever is sending me these visions and I think it might be someone from Yami's past- why else would they remember him in such a personal way?"

__

(But I do not remember-)

/We have to do our best to figure this out, it's the only lead we've got on anything. Please, Yami, you've got to try again to unlock your memories so we can explain my visions and find whoever experienced all these things. Whoever it was, they were betrayed in the worst way… I want to help them./

(How could they still be alive if they are from my time?)

/Maybe they're not./

Yami frowned again, long fingers curling possessively around Yugi's hand. He didn't think he liked where all of this was going- he didn't think he like it at all. _(What if?)_

/Then our first idea stands. We have t go back to the Shadow Realm./

The spirit said nothing, but snaked an arm around Yugi's waist and buried his face in the small of his partner's back. He didn't particularly care that everyone was now staring at them in question, he wasn't even sure why he suddenly needed the comfort of Yugi's closeness. The contact helped clear his thoughts. _(Yugi, this isn't going to be like anything that's happened to us before. Then we always knew what we were fighting for, who we were up against… there was always an end in sight, a goal. This time… I'm not going to let that place take you from me; I get the feeling that might be what it has wanted from the beginning.)_

Yugi looked at the floor, covering Yami's hand across his stomach with one of his own. _/Why/_

(Because without you, I am nothing.)

"We have to find out who's sending me the visions, since I think it might be somebody from Yami's past, first Yami is going to try to unlock his memories again. Meanwhile, we're back to square one from yesterday; we have to start searching the Shadow Realm." Yugi hesitated for a moment before adding, "Yami is afraid I might be a target, not just for the necromancer, but… there is ambient Darkness in the Shadow Realm and it doesn't really like me at all." He grinned.

"So how are we gonna search?" Joey was pretty sure he remembered that not even Yugi could stay in there for long, but he'd be the first person to admit he wasn't good with things like that.

Yugi's eyes went blank again and the group shifted uncomfortably, knowing he was talking to Yami about the situation and much more at ease about it now that the pair could have spoken aloud and had chosen not to. It wasn't long, though, before Yugi glanced around the table in a pregnant silence, sizing up each of his friends in turn.

"Yami says he can protect us now, but he's not sure how he may be affected or if he can take everyone. I think-" he paused, his mouth open in mid-sentence.

__

(Yugi… I have… a rather enormous request.)

His brow furrowed, "What is it?"

Joey cocked an eyebrow in confusion and glanced at everyone else.

__

(I… I can try again within myself to uncover the secret of my memories, but… I fear it will be as futile as ever even though everything feels different now that I can be apart from you. Things that never worked before may make all the difference now- except…)

As Yami paused to think of the right words for his request, Yugi struggled with what he had already said. Now that he could be apart, Yami thought he might be able to come back to himself? Had he been preventing his other half from realizing who he was all this time just by being in the way? He didn't like to think it, didn't like the repercussions it would have if it turned out to be true.

But Yami was talking again, _(I think… Yugi, if you can wait to search the Shadow Realm, I think that the one who was meant to unlock my memories wasn't me… it was you. I ask that you come with me into the puzzle, we can work on it together! I'm sure that you would recognize things that mean nothing to me anymore.)_

/I- I don't know about this, Yami, I…/

(Please, Yugi, you know me better than I know myself… my other half… Will you do this?)

Clearing his throat, Yugi took another uncertain look at his friends, "Guys… change of plans… I think we have to wait to search the Shadow Realm until we know what we're looking for. Yami and I are going to try to unlock his memories… together."

Three blank stares met him.

Yugi coughed. "We're trusting you guys to guard my body while I'm unconscious and to find out all you can about necromancers."

"What'll we do if something shows up? We don't have Shadow powers." Tea pleaded with her eyes, unconsciously reaching out to Yugi as if imploring him not to leave them when they knew so little about their situation.

"Know you will think of something do we." Yami's musical, accented voice interrupted, surprising everyone, "Trust you, our friends, completely with our lives."

Yugi nodded in agreement.

Tea sighed and rested a cheek in her palm, knowing already this couldn't end well.


	7. A Man and a God

**EGYPT: 2498 BC**

_Chapter Seven_

_As ret mitu Xer - ten her hra-ten un - a suten_

_Behold ye men, damned ones, fall down upon your faces; I am King_

"Princess…"

Yuugi awoke with a start to find himself alone on the wooden pallet where he didn't _quite_ recall falling asleep the night before. In place of the King's body next to him, there was only a mound of disturbed linen. The table which had glittered so brightly with the jewellery he'd removed from the King's person was now only clean, polished wood. It was as if the whole thing had never happened and, if he were in a slightly less conspicuous room, Yuugi could have almost convinced himself it was all a strange and slightly disturbing dream. As it was, he sat up groggily, glancing about in mild confusion at the opulence that surrounded him. Was it a poor omen to wake up alone in your marriage bed?

"Your Lord King is at temple," a cool voice informed him from the doorway. The First Prophet stepped lightly into the room, delicate, priestly papyrus sandals scraping quietly against the stone. His tall form dwarfed even the decadence of the chamber and the piercing quality to his stare struck a note of alarm in the young prince's head. Something was amiss here, and in a moment he would know just what it was. He grabbed fiercely at his chest in sudden, mounting apprehension and felt… nothing.

The scarves were gone.

"How old are you exactly, young princess?" Seth took another scandalous step into the sleeping chamber, setting Yuugi off into an internal rant about the Kemet people's fearsome lack of scruples. "Your father assured us you were of a fertile age." Narrowed, kohl-lined eyes glared accusingly.

"I- ," Yuugi stuttered, squirming backward towards the wall and trying to sink into his bed linens. Who had removed his scarves? A servant coming to wash and dress him? The King? That didn't bear thinking about- he couldn't stomach the possibility it might all be over before he had a chance to begin- and he was now deathly afraid he'd failed after all.

Seth knelt at his bedside, dark eyes intense, the black eye-makeup only serving to enhance his naturally intimidating stare. The atmosphere changed for Yuugi as he tried to meet that stare, to silently defend himself even as Seth leaned so close that his senses filled with the heady smell of the precious oils in which the priest was anointed.

"His Majesty has taken more interest in you than in any of his other wives," the King's cousin said softly, glancing away. "I fear, though, P_rincess _Yuugi, that it makes no difference. Does it."

Hanging his head, unsure what to say, Yuugi wished desperately that Seth would just expose him and get it over with. He prayed for a quick death. Let Althen grant him that one mercy… a trip to the Star Staircase without too much pain…

Seth nodded, rising to his feet again and taking the amulet around his neck between long fingers. He seemed to brood for a moment, considering the spotless floor as Yuugi stewed in private anguish. "Perhaps…" he began again, his serpentine voice not as frightening as it had once been. "Perhaps there is something to be gained here."

The Carni boy stared in wonder. Was he saying…?

With a shrug, the High Priest went on, "It is not for me to interfere, after all, when the gods have made their intention towards you clear." He met Yuugi's gaze again. He was not joking, he was not letting the little prince off the hook: he was deathly serious. "A dream came to me in the night and I only now understand its full interpretation."

Yuugi could only wait for more, watching in confusion.

Seth glowered down, business-like, "You are under the protection of Sekhmet, Destroyer of the Enemies of Ra. My lord Atem will discover what he must by the will of the goddess and in accordance with _ma'at._" He raised a hand in a curious sort of salute and then turned away, "My personal servants will attend your repose, Your Highness, and whenever you have any need. It shall be so. His Majesty will summon you to break your fast together with him when he returns from the Rising Ceremony and the Offerings."

Yuugi was frozen, still staring helplessly, "Thank you," he whispered, awed.

The First Prophet's head shook slowly from left to right, "I am but an instrument of the goddess. It is she you must thank, for without her intervention…" he allowed that thought to hang, disturbingly palpable, on the air between them before turning and leaving the room in three long strides.

"Thank you all the same…" he whispered as the servants entered to led him to bath.

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.

Sweet-smelling, painted, bejewelled and wrapped in the simple linen sheath of a Kemet woman, Yuugi was led into a long dim hall, fiddling nervously with his Carni scarves and with his heart in his throat. The King sat in one of the elegant curved chairs unique to his country, sparse even in the palace because of the expense of wood. A line of servants laden down with platters stood to his left, looking ready to spring forward the moment they were required. There were no other chairs in the lofty expanse of the hall, instead Yuugi was escorted to a pile of linens and pillows to the right of the King, who was looking at him, consideration plain and unforgiving on his dark face.

The rooms in this country were all vast and imposing to Yuugi, sheltered in the small capital of a minor desert nation. Nothing about his new home seemed familiar but the feel of the sand beneath his sandalled feet and the smell of the scorching sun on the dry breeze. In the tempest of activity, the King was the eye of the storm; calm and cool in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. His presence, though always nerve-wracking, soothed the young prince in a way he couldn't quite comprehend. His dark ruby-brown eyes were stormy themselves, his brow slightly creased as he sat in silence, surrounded by opulence that didn't seem to affect him in the least. His own magnetism almost made Yuugi forget, was almost enough to prevent him from noticing or considering his situation. Almost… and he feared that nearness.

"Leave us," he commanded unexpectedly, breaking through the thick silence of the room and shattering Yuugi's pensive calmness. His eyes never left his wife's face as the servants scurried to obey him; setting trays down in front of Yuugi before backing out of the room with their eyes lowered and shoulders bowed.

The King's careful and unhurried scrutiny made Yuugi want to squirm, even as he gestured to the food and commanded him in the same voice that had scattered the slaves, "Eat."

Reaching hastily toward a platter to comply and feeling hopelessly awkward, Yuugi was suddenly stopped by the King's hand on his wrist. Swallowing thickly, he turned to stare up at him, all his terrifying and intimidating beauty restored to him after the surprising gentleness of the night before- had he changed his mind about the freedoms he had offered? Did he regret treating a foreigner with the same respect and consideration he would treat an Egyptian? Had the First Prophet told him the truth in spite of his words?

"Your Majesty?" Yuugi stared up into bottomless eyes. Eyes far too old to belong to such a young king. Earthy, ruby-brown eyes studying him in that damnably calm, measuring way- superior, but strangely kind. Strangely… sympathetic.

"You fear me, yet, wife." It was not a question. "Why?"

Yuugi fumbled for something to say, stuttering and mumbling, "I-I… y-you…"

He broke off, trailing his gaze away, unable to face what he thought he might see there if he were to look too long. The King was not aloof from him the way that he should have been, the way he expected to be treated by one who was revered and even worshipped by his own people. Yuugi could not face that possibility of emotion in his eyes; the silent question he had _not _asked; why did a wife disdain her husband so, when he had given so much to make her trust she would come to no harm?

He could not allow that question, he was in very real danger of being unable to answer.

His Majesty leaned back in his chair, drawing all Yuugi's attention back to him as he draped himself elegantly over his armrest, broad shoulders slumped against the back of the throne. For throne it was as long as _this _man was seated in it. His _nemes _headdress made his harsh eye-makeup look fiercer, his already foreign eyes more slanted as he narrowed them at the boy before him. "It must be attended to. It will begin now; you will give me my meal."

Yuugi allowed himself a moment of blissful confusion, pretending not to know quite what his lord was asking of him… but could not lie for longer than that all-too-brief moment. Swallowing again, feeling his stomach turn over and any appetite he had fading swiftly as Althen descending into the Underworld at dawn. Not more of this, not more intimacy in mundane tasks that deepened his shame with every second they lasted. He couldn't bare to include the King in his personal tragedy, could not bare to fathom what would happen when the god-king found out exactly who he really was….

He pushed all thoughts from his mind, clearing his head of everything except the task at hand. His king wanted his wife to feel close to him, comfortable with his touch. _I would do anything in my power to please him- but he knows not for what he asks._ A small sigh escaped the long-suffering prince, momeetre wistful than regretful, as he plucked a square of melon from an intricate arrangement of colourful fruits, the flesh carved cleanly out of the husk and sliced into bite-sized pieces before being put back for presentation. Effort wasted on both the King and his wife as neither could take eyes off each other long enough to appreciate that the fruit was even there.

He lifted the wet cube of flesh in his fingers, juice staining his hand and running down his wrist as he brought it to his king's mouth, proud that his trembling was almost unnoticeable. The King's lips passed over skin as he took the fruit, briefly enclosing tapered fingertips in the heat of his mouth and sending a shudder all through Yuugi to his toes and back, a shudder he didn't begin to understand- or want to. Two more pieces followed, each time his fingers resting longer against the king's overfull lips, his eyes locked on the fruit as it disappeared into his mouth.

As the boy reached for a fourth piece, head spinning with the dizzy light-headedness of drink and fingertips tingling; the king's hand rose to rest on the curve of his chin. Yuugi's eyes darted back to his and the pair sat motionless, staring at each other with some ineffable emotion passing between them, an understanding and a joint puzzlement. Eternity slid by as bronze-gold hand cupped alabaster jaw, slipping under the fine, almost transparent cloth of the Kemet veil and guiding the delicate face nearer and upward, tilting Yuugi's head so slowly, it was like a dream.

Lips met lips and parted. A dream… and he couldn't rouse. Couldn't quite recall why he should…

"Soft… _nefer_…" Yami's rich voice was a caress, his forehead resting against Yuugi's and his fathomless eyes drawing him in and drowning him. "What troubles you so, my little Carni princess?" His fingers curled into newly freed fair hair as he brushed the veil away and pulled in again for a longer, more potent kiss.

"So much is wrong…" Yuugi whispered, lost and confused, not understanding what was happening to him as his lips parted under the king's and the kiss deepened and went on and on. He couldn't stop the flood of emotions threatening to overwhelm him as his arms seemed to take on a life of their own, closing soundly around his husband's elegant golden neck… Could understand, perhaps a small part of it all when he suddenly realized his cheeks were soaked with tears even as he folded himself deeper and deeper into this embrace that never should have been.

"Your Majesty!" the voice came from far away, echoing through the haze of his mind, but not quite real enough to break the spell that had fallen over him.

"Majesty!" Louder this time and closer.

Yuugi broke away from the kiss and from the king's arms, throwing himself onto the floor and panting for breath. He stared in terror at the newcomer, millions of frightened possibilities rushing through his head; had he seen? Had Seth sent him to tell the king all about his deception and expose his true nature? Would he be punished for being so forward or…

The king was irritated, his somehow fiery calm more than a little intimidating. "Speak, if you have news that is of such value that it intrudes upon our one moment of distraction. Speak if you have cause or be gone and thank Ma'at for mercy that you live still to feel remorse for your impertinence."

The intruder fell upon his face on the floor, scrambling in the dust in his agitation. Yuugi, who had little experience with a real court could still readily tell this man was on no fool's errand.

"Your Majesty, He of the Sedge and the Bee, _nefer netjer_, have mercy on my transgression; for a force of arms thought to be two thousand deep comes from the west. They hold aloft the banners of Syret, King of Carni." He looked up, his dark Kemet eyes wide and fearful, begging the King not to blame the messenger for his message, "And Your Majesty… the first lines wear necromancer's robes."

The King's eyes flashed to Yuugi, deep and staring and accusing, as if it were Yuugi himself who had betrayed him. For a long moment he perused the dismay and the pleading on his bride's face, his own expression completely dispassionate- as if he had not embraced this person mere heartbeats before. Finally, he turned away, back to the still-kneeling messenger who had brought him the tidings.

"Kom! Prepare and bring the lions! We will go in flesh to meet this insolence. Syret has overstepped his limitations and crossed into the Black Land, he now dares to spit in the face of the goddess! We will restore _ma'at_, we will stomp out the beginnings of a war thought already ended." He turned on Yuugi savagely, subdued rage smouldering in his eyes, and grabbed him by the collar, shortly hauling him to his feet. "Our _wife _will accompany us."

The living Horus thundered toward the nearest doorway, bodyguards swarming about him like moths to a flame, scattering in shock as he turned back with a sweeping flourish of his arm. He pointed at Yuugi and the Carni prince fell back to his knees, more because of the sudden weakness of his muscles than out of subservience, though he would freely give that if it was all that was needed.

"Your father has done greater harm than he will ever comprehend, Yuugi of Carni!" that magnificent voice burst out with a power that sent all who heard to the floor, snivelling and submissive. The King grew larger, more beautiful, radiant, terrifying and consuming in that moment as he gathered his immense aura and rage and unleashed it with a brutal accuracy at his wife. "Know this, if you know nothing else in your short life on earth; I am the morning and the evening, I am the call that brings Ra's rays down upon the land. _I _am all that is and ever will be- no man can take from me and live. Fire shall rain from the Heavens on Syret of Carni! Do you understand!"

The shouted question left Yuugi lone and tiny in the dust, as insignificant as that sand upon which he stood. He could not stop the tears that ran down his cheeks, nor hide the fear that came from him in waves as his small body trembled in the wake of kingly wrath. Surely this was divine fire among men.

"I… understand, Your Majesty." He said miserably, hoping this was the correct response, knowing he could not take another outburst. "Forgive me my blood, Your Majesty… forgive me…." He let his face fall into the grit of the floor, keening with helplessness. He had failed. Failed to avert the war he had known would come- he was not surprised his father had become impatient before his plan could have a chance to work. Syret could not bare cunning, it took far too long and he preferred his gratification instant. No, he was not surprised- just… hopeless.

A hand fell on his shoulder. Yuugi looked up cautiously, half expecting the all too familiar sensation of a blow landing over his back.

It never came.

The King stood over him like one of the stone colossi at the city gates. Unmoving, his features serious and vaguely clouded. The hand shifted down, breezing over his skin to hook beneath his arm and pull him, again, to his feet. It was Yami with him now, not the Good God who ruled over Kemet with divine fire in his eyes; it was the man who had shared his bed without any expectations, merely to bring what happiness he could to an innately inferior, worthless little foreigner.

"You… you must not keep things from me," Yami's strong fingers dug painfully into Yuugi's biceps as he stared into his eyes. Desperately trying to convey something he was unwilling to voice. "I am not _just_ a king, but king I am. You must _never _keep things from me."

Yuugi was silent under that piercing gaze, tears rolling unheeded and silent down his cheeks. "I'll tell you anything, but you won't forgive me."

His grip tightened and then loosed and Yami ran his fingers through his plaited hair, ornaments tinkling softly. He turned away. "Forgiveness comes from trust. Earn my trust, Carni woman and you will earn forgiveness. I… can't accept anything less. No matter what I might… wish…"

"Yami…"

He turned again in a fury of braids and a swirl of kilt and jewellery, his eyes were hard and the gentleness was gone. "We go, be merry on the journey, woman, for if you are found lacking, on the morrow you'll die."

Yuugi bowed his head. Yami, who had given him comfort, helped him, showed him kindness, embraced him and gave him freedom; he wanted to believe his judgement was sound and that his wife was not a part of this betrayal. That Yuugi was innocent of it all and genuinely thought himself merely a diplomatic bride. The King who wore the Double Crown knew he could not allow an enemy to survive and dwell in his inner circle. The King had decided that mercy would be weak, a mistake. Of course, the King in this man was the side he was forced to heed in all matters of consequence and he could not alter himself simply because something had been stirred in a heart that was always still before.

The situation was precarious and neither man was willing to let go of the other so soon after they had discovered something indefinable and powerful lay between them.

When Yuugi looked up, the King was gone and a handful of slaves stood by holding a case of jewels and cosmetics. Yuugi was to be redressed to meet his destiny and face his father's selfish desires, desires that may yet succeed in destroying not only his shameful youngest son, but the greatest king the greatest nation in the world had ever known.

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

They met across an open desert plain, bare of any life but a few scrubs of plant that would probably survive through any conditions the world could deem to throw at them. The Kemet stood in a grand line, warriors at the ready with their copper swords drawn and roped lions voicing their descent that the procession had ceased without the least shedding of blood. The Carni were not so commanding a presence, a simple line of pikemen and a second behind of camels were all they presented to the oncoming enemy.

The King was approaching him from behind, resplendent in his double crown and linen so fine it was almost completely transparent, layered around his person and flowing down from his shoulders. Wrist braces of gold and a pectoral of twin lioness heads calling upon the protection of Sekhmet shimmered in the glare of the noonday sun. It shone brightest on a piece of gold larger than any other Yuugi had ever seen. Shaped like the pyramids he had seen and had been awed by, inverted as it rested serenely against the king's chest, the gold was unsettling. As if it were merely resting a moment, dormant by design rather than nature, ready to spring up at any moment.

On its side was the all-seeing eye. The Eye of Horus that would protect the King from any harm that might befall him… yet, that most powerful of emblems seemed out of place, twisted somehow into wrongness. Yuugi didn't know how he could ever hope to sense when a Kemet amulet was _right_, but he knew, deep within himself that this one was not. It was a new knot of dread deep in his stomach, growing whenever he felt the strange awareness of the thing… He wished his King was not the one wearing it.

"It is as we feared, you majesty," a voice announced to Yuugi's left as the King drew up beside him. He turned to see a wizened old man, clean as only a priest was, his shaven head turned to the distance, weakening eyes squinted as he tried to make out the Carni's movements.

"They have the necromancers." His majesty stared with him, his fingers twitching in agitation that only Yuugi was aware of. Close enough, as he was, to feel the movement next to him.

The old priest nodded sagely, "Dark power knows no limits, your grace, so long as evil lurks in men's hearts it can only grow stronger. What will we do knowing that they have given sanctuary to all that oppose us with a power that can do harm?" He reached tentatively toward the King's arm, then thought better of it and let his hand drop back to his side.

"The gods shall smite them for their insolence. None shall stand against the divine ruler entrusted with _ma'at_, so says the god. The creatures of the Underworld shall devour them and all their kin. Trust in Thoth, whom you serve, don't come to me with fears until you are man enough to face them." The King looked down at the priest in an odd kind of respectful contempt for a moment before his expression cleared and his hand rose to the inverted pyramid that set Yuugi so on edge.

"If Carni has become shrouded in Darkness, then she is lost."

Diplomatic negotiations were brief.

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.

_History Bites: _nefer netjer _means the 'good god' and is an Old Kingdom name for pharaoh. Pharaoh's divinity was a lot more clean cut in that period and he was grouped almost without distinction with the other gods._

_Thoth is the patron god of scribes._

_Ma'at is the goddess of truth, order and justice. Pharaoh's only real culpability is to the principal of ma'at, he must uphold order and drive out chaos. Failure to do so is really the only thing that can lead to his removal._

_We all know what Ra is god of. Lol._

_Sekhmet is a warrior/protective goddess, whose animal is the lion. Local to Memphis and especially tied to Pharaoh.  
_

Nefer_ means god, or gods._

_'He of the Sedge and Bee' is the throne name of the pharaoh. Not his 'son of Ra' or birth name._

_Yami might randomly stop and start the royal we crap. It's deep and meaningful. Sometimes. If I decide it's too silly, it might disappear altogether._

_I think this chapter sucks a bit. I will try to work on it again later. I just really wanted to get this up because it's been a while since I updated. My line breaks worked, though! Yayayayaya!  
_

Ps **Master Elora Dannan**: yep. I swiped the quote from Labyrinth. Don't worry, I was going to credit Bowie for his endless genius after I use the quote in the story. By the way, I love your name. Are you crawling with Brownies? wink

**Lucidscreamer**: I'm part of my favourite C2! Thank-you!


	8. I Should Tell You

**MODERN DAY**

_Chapter Eight_

"Why does distance make us wise…"

She never wanted adventure, romance, action and rescue from some brave knight on a dazzling white charger, armor blazing in the sun, almost as much as his teeth. She never wanted that. She was born into a practical sort of family, grew up a practical sort of girl and reached for practical sorts of dreams. It wasn't completely inconceivable to make it as a dancer, not if you worked at it as hard as she had worked at it. There was a good chance she might just succeed and be fulfilled in life. That chance was almost more important than anything else was, or it had been for a while; some people like to have their dreams come true. Some people would even give up normal things like friends and dates and break the rules at school to get a job if it meant they could _be _someone.

When she stood up for the short kid who never quite fit in and never seemed to grow up; said she would befriend this boy she'd known her whole life anyway, she had no idea she was signing on for the furthest thing from the practical, ordinary life she imagined. Who could have possibly guessed? Not her, certainly not Yugi, himself. The poor guy thought his biggest problems would always be bullies and the puzzles he did voluntarily. She would always wonder whether he would have become the same person if none of this had happened- most people would assume not, that kind of a thing changes a person- with Yugi it was hard to tell. He was so much stronger than anyone could have guessed; he was the strongest out of the whole group, his was a subtle kind of strength, a faith… a hope. She wished she could be more like him.

It was Yugi's words they hung on, his decisions they honoured; it was his determination that kept them going. His open, simple kindness that was the glue holding them all together. As she stared around the table at the impromptu council of war, she realized all over again what an unlikely bunch they were; how they would never have said a decent word to each other, much less been inseparable best friends if not for the influence of poor, seemingly helpless Yugi. He was like some great teacher, surrounded by disciples egar to learn his secrets. Or like a king, as they were told he had been once…. Maybe that was why he had such a strange air of leadership around him. Had that always been there?

Tea observed silently as Yami turned to embrace Yugi's small form and the image brought the question that had bothered her all night back to the surface of her mind. Were they the same person… or not? She had told Rebecca that there was really only one Yugi, that Yami was only the more confident, assertive side of his personality. She had believed it, too, at the time- weren't they two pieces of the same soul, divided into the extremes of personality because of their separation? Yami the piece banished to the puzzle in ancient Egypt in order to save his people from some great evil, maybe that was why the darker side was sealed, maybe- who knew? And then there was Yugi, presumably the piece that had escaped the sealing ritual somehow, being reincarnated just in time to release Yami and save the world all over again. How else could it work?

Now, though, as the pair sat side by side, they were not at all the mirror image she had assumed they would be. Yami was tall and strong, dark and forbidding, his deep eyes full of mystery. Yugi was petite, pale as new snow, too gentle for his own good, everything he felt written across his face. It was the contrast that made the theory make sense… but not like this; without the connection of their near-identical appearances, they seemed totally unrelated individuals. The more they interacted, the more it seemed that both were fully developed in their own right, capable of independence, but choosing to be together because they each gave they other something they needed. They were much more like complementary than a matched set…

Yugi _was _soft and gentle, little and physically helpless, he _did _need a guardian to look after him and defend him from enemies bigger than him. Yami was everything he was missing in that respect, physically able, with a stronger stomach and the willpower necessary to kill those who opposed him. At the same time, there was the strength she had noticed; inner strength, the kind that most people would never develop. Yugi was completely sure of himself in everything he did and he always believed that he could win no matter how impossible the odds. For all of Yami's incredible powers, he didn't always believe that they could do it; when things began to look hopeless, he needed just as much encouragement as everyone else. Encouragement that came from Yugi. They didn't have one thing or the other the way they should have, they both had strength. That was just one small thing; she didn't want to think about all the other things, the more she thought, the more it seemed she was wrong about them.

Yami had always fascinated her, captivated her interest since the beginning; when he took control of Yugi's body his every gesture and expression was infused with a nameless grace and the sureness, the _authority _of a god. He was _such _a king. Though he hadn't known it; he had acted on it, taken possession of Yugi and his friends subconsciously. They were his property, his to use and his responsibility to protect; however, they were too far beneath him to be cherished, to be allowed to see him without the crown. She longed to be the one who would persuade him that it was all right for the crown to come off, the one to break though and see his humanity, his real personality. She wanted it with all of her being until the moment she realized that the honour had long since belonged to someone else.

Yugi had seen his Darkness in the throes of every kind of emotion, had seen him vulnerable and weak and open in a way Tea never could. She didn't know whether to be jealous or happy for Yami- and Yugi- for making the breakthrough that had probably saved them all, though they didn't know it. It was hard to be jealous of Yugi, his life had been so hard, so sad, and then his mind was invaded by a vengeful spirit, his life- such as it was- overturned. That was why, even though she had compassion for him, she felt that tiny bit of shameful envy far in the depths of her heart. He had a relationship with Yami which she could never share, that she had only recently realized she _wanted _at all.

If they were the same person, she was in love with Yugi- if they were really different the way she was almost daring to suspect, then she had a tiny splinter in the part of her heart that had already realized the truth that they themselves were unaware of. And, as we all know, the smallest splinter, left untreated, can be fatal.

She looked on uneasily while Yugi lay down on the couch; his eyes meeting Joey's as he shot him a reassuring smile. Yugi was so trusting, so positive in his knowledge that it would all be okay. The idea of both his body's occupants fading away to the inside of the puzzle, a labyrinth of darkness and traps and hallways that lead nowhere didn't frighten him at all. It was only what he had to do. It didn't even occur to him that they might be trapped, that they might never see him again… Yugi had no grasp at all of the concept that this wasn't some story, this was reality and in reality; the bad guys can win.

"We've done this before, you know," Yugi said cheerily. His smile was real, right into his bright blue eyes. "There's nothing to worry about."

Joey's smile, on the other hand, was forced, "Whatever you say, Yug'."

Tristan gave a feeble thumbs-up and Tea just stood there, thinking this was wrong, this was dangerous, he's not telling us something, the puzzle _can't _be safe- what if it fell apart with them in it? No one else could put that thing together again except Yugi or Yami. What if, _what if…_

..;:..

Yugi took a last glance around at his friends, feeling stronger just to have them all there, supporting him. He was getting used to this feeling, this sense of togetherness; it was nice to be one of the group instead of one of the outcasts, for once.

_/As long as we're all together…/ _he thought, letting the sentiments drift across the shared consciousness to the shadows of his mind, where Yami would hear him. _/Nothing can go wrong./_

_(I fear, partner,) _Yami's answering thoughts were wistful, _(that I have lost some of your indefatigable optimism in separation.)_

Yugi was unperturbed, as usual, sending out his usual warm, embracing thoughts. _/All you need to do is believe, Yami./_

_(I'll try.) _Yami's mental voice surrounded him, as if in return of the embrace. _(…for you.)_

They were ready. The connection secure and their communion as strong and natural as ever. Yami's fingers formed from the nothingness, reaching into the void and creating himself and Yugi like a sculpture working from thin air. They exchanged a look, clasped hands and they were falling, flying, hurtling and the world was a blur; there was nothing and all the world- all sliding passed them at thousands of kilometers an hour and then- Everything stopped.

The air was stuffy, ancient; the atmosphere oppressive, if you lost something here, you would never find it again. The feeling didn't really bode well for their quest. It closely resembled a painting by M.C. Esher Yugi's English teacher had been fond of; he'd made the class write poems inspired by it. Yugi's had been something about there being light, a way out… that was just Yugi's way. Not only that, it was hard to be afraid of something like that, when you had something almost worse right inside your head. Thinking on this, Yami noted with amusement that his poem would be much like the puzzle itself, shadowy and enigmatic, difficult to find any meaning anywhere. The idea was pleasing to him. He liked being a mystery.

"And here we are," Yugi ventured, aiming a timid smile at Yami, only to start in surprise. "Yami! What…?"

"What is it, partner?" the spirit looked down at himself and started also. He was garbed in a linen kilt, sandals, gold jewelry and little else. His long, black hair fell about him in tiny, tight braids trimmed with beads. "I… I did not do this."

The two stared at each other and then at their surroundings, peering into the all-encompassing blackness. Was it just a semi-sentient, ancient artifact's idea of a joke? Or was it something… else?

"Come, partner," Yami broke the silence that was settling over them like a heavy fog. Everything seemed so dense inside the puzzle, the air was so thick it felt like breathing sand.

They walked, somewhat aimlessly, Yugi keeping his eyes open and trying to be aware of any strange feelings he might get. When it came, he didn't know how he recognized it, or understood it, but he grabbed Yami and pulled him towards a corner of the puzzle which suddenly seemed to emanate a strange sort of light. Hidden away at the end of a long passage, it seemed to be a dead end until they got close. Thousands of whispering voices washed over them from total silence, compelling them to block their ears even as they drew closer. Yugi reached out and the wall fell away, out of the blinding brightness, a single voice overshadowed the others enough to become clear.

_"Where there is nothing there is endless possibility, this is the wisdom of your forefathers- you will remember it!" _the proverb ended in a wail that made both light and dark step back, a chill making its way from the tips of their toes to the ends of their hair.

_"I know you love her- that's why she has to go! Send her back before you cause her any more pain! **Cousin! **Listen to me!" _

_"I'll do anything you want me to do…" _this one was timid, wilting, barely making itself heard at all, _"Just don't ask me to leave."_

_"Gods of Kemet; hear me! I am blood of your blood, it is my will and our will is **divine**!" _Yami's own voice echoed around them long after the others finally faded, his thunderous command lingering on the thick, still air.

_/Yami…/ _Yugi almost whimpered. It had not just been voices, it had not just been images, it had been a full assault on his senses without really being anything at all.

_(I remember those things.) _Yami seemed not to notice. _(I must, or they would not be here.) _He took Yugi by the shoulder, turning him to face him. _(I need to return to my tomb to truly unlock my memories- we _know _that, but perhaps… all this time, there _has _been something here! Perhaps when I was sealed in the puzzle they made allowances for enough to be within the puzzle itself to help us… In case of such misfortune as we have had!)_

_/What were you doing? In that… whatever that was. What were you demanding of the gods in that voice… with that terrible tone…/ _Yugi stared up at the spirit he'd lived with for what felt like forever, staring as if he'd never seen him before. _/What were you _doing

_(Yugi…)_

_/Yami, there's something more here than you're seeing. That voice begging someone not to make them leave- that was _me_! Why would my voice be here? Why would I sound half dead like that/ _Yugi's already wide eyes seemed wider still as he looked at his partner; towering over him and imposing with his dark skin and glittering jewels. His changed countenance was the last straw, Yugi turned away and started walking.

_(Partner!) _Yami followed him, but made no move to accost him, knowing Yugi was on the brink of breaking down. _(I don't know any more about this than you do, Yugi!)_

Yugi stopped walking, but didn't turn around. "Yami… are we who we thought we were?" His voice was quiet, but steady as steel, firm and deadly serious.

"I…" unaccustomed to being lost for words, Yami floundered.

"Don't say you don't know what I mean, don't lie to me like that- you know exactly what I'm talking about!" Narrow shoulders shook under the strain as Yugi fought to contain himself, fear and sadness warring for dominance on his face. "You're so changed, I- what if we're not that close, what if you only thought… because you were in my head and you didn't know anything… What if…?" Yugi put a hand to his forehead, grimacing.

"What if this…" there was no word for their relationship, but Yugi would understand; he always did. "Isn't real?"


End file.
